SEPTEMBER 16, 2026
compiled by STEVE ULRICH
No publication covers NCAA Division III better. #whyD3

😺 Happy Wednesday. Support D3Playbook with a subscription today.

📆 What’s Happening Today. The DIII Nominating Committee meets virtually.

🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. Ex’s and Oh’s. Elle King

A MESSAGE FROM ANGELINO’S COFFEE

Your K-Cup Has Been Sitting in a Warehouse for Months

That grocery store pod? It was roasted long before it hit the shelf. Coffee starts losing flavor within weeks of roasting — which is why your morning cup tastes flat, no matter how nice your machine is.

Angelino's does it differently. A third-generation roaster in Los Angeles, they roast, grind, and seal every pod in-house for peak freshness, then ship it to your door within days of roasting. The difference is the first thing you'll notice: real aroma, real flavor, no bitterness.

Mix and match from 50+ specialty coffees, teas, and flavored blends — all Keurig®-compatible — and save more with every box you add, up to 34% off at 12+. Order once whenever you're running low, or subscribe for an extra 5% if that's easier. Entirely up to you.

New customers get 15% off their first order — applied automatically, no code needed.

Taste the Fresh Difference

Top Story

1. Protect College Sports Act Moves Closer to Final Senate Vote

“A bill that proposes to fix some of the biggest problems in college sports - spiraling spending, constant lawsuits and a transfer portal run amok - cleared a major hurdle Tuesday when the Senate voted 74-24 to halt debate and move the measure one step closer to a final up-or-down vote.

The Protect College Sports Act, a bill co-sponsor Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, called "a bipartisan solution designed to bring order to the chaos," easily cleared the 60-vote threshold it needed to stop the filibuster.

Co-sponsor Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said the lopsided nature of the vote left her "cautiously optimistic" it could get through the House, which has failed repeatedly to pass a different version of a college sports bill.”

SEPTEMBER x, 2026
compiled by STEVE ULRICH
No publication covers NCAA Division III better. #whyD3

🎂 Is Today Your Birthday? DYK September is the most common birthday month.

📆 What’s Happening Today. The DIII Diversity, Equity and Inclusion subcommittee meets virtually at 3 p.m. EDT.

🗞️ My Subscription. Subscribers to D3Playbook receive full access every day. Free subscribers receive D3Playbook every Monday. Support us with a subscription today.

🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. Birthday. The Beatles

A MESSAGE FROM ESSENCE BIO LABS

>99% Purity, Proven On Paper. Unlock Your 30% Off

Essence Bio Labs supplies research peptides with a third party certificate of analysis on every batch. Purity, identity, and mass spec results, all published before you buy.

New customers take 30% off their first order with code BEEHIIV30.

Based in and shipped from the United States. Same day fulfillment with a lot number that traces back to the batch it came from. Trusted by thousands of researchers. Catalog includes GHK-Cu, BPC-157, TB-500, MOTS-C, CJC-1295, Tesamorelin, and NAD+ in multiple mg presentations.

BEEHIIV30 for 30% off

^{All products sold for laboratory research use only. Not for human or veterinary use.}

Top Story

1. Protect College Sports Act: Ted Cruz Updates Timeline For Vote As Senate Returns From Recess

“In a press conference Monday on Capitol Hill, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said the expectation is the Protect College Sports Act will get a vote in the next 10 days. Senators returned Monday from a recess, which began in the early morning hours Aug. 8.

Cruz and Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) co-authored the bipartisan legislation, introduced in late May. The hope was it would get a vote before the recess began following a Senate Commerce Committee vote, but it did not reach the floor. However, Cruz and bill co-sponsor Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) said it was “guaranteed” to get a vote after the break.

SEPTEMBER 14, 2026
compiled by STEVE ULRICH
No publication covers NCAA Division III better. #whyD3

🌅  Good Monday Morning. Beginning tomorrow, only subscribers will have full access to the D3Playbook. Please consider supporting us with a subscription.

📆 What’s Happening Today. The DIII FAR Advisory Group meets virtually.

🔈️ What We’re Hearing. “We’re all spending a lot of money on lawyers, and I think all of us would rather spend that money on something else.” - NCAA President Charlie Baker

🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. Monday Morning. Fleetwood Mac

Top Story

1. NCAA Chief: College Sports Bill Means Less ‘Money on Lawyers,’ More on Athletics

“NCAA President Charlie Baker is feeling “pretty good” about the prospects for Senate passage of bipartisan college sports legislation. As for whether it will get to President Donald Trump’s desk this year — well, one step at a time.

“One of the things that you know I learned from my 16 years in state government is: This is a one-bite-at-a-time type business,” Baker told Semafor in an interview this week, adding that “I’m hopeful that if the Senate can get something done here, that the House will find a way to make this part of what they deal with” after the election.”

» Driving The News. “It’s a good moment for an experienced politician to lead the NCAA, whose very future is on the line in Congress one way or another. A former moderate GOP governor of Massachusetts, Baker is guiding his organization to the precipice of a vote that could stabilize college sports after long seasons of turbulence in the $14 billion-plus economy surrounding it.”

» State of Play. “Senate Republicans may face a few defections on the college sports bill in the next few days. But the real question mark is Democrats, who could filibuster it outright. Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut are among those lawmakers advocating against the bill behind the scenes.”

» Quotable. “We are spending more money on championships than we’ve ever spent before. We have more people coming to them than we’ve ever had before. That’s a really great story,” Baker said. “But we’re all spending a lot of money on lawyers, and I think all of us would rather spend that money on something else.”

A MESSAGE FROM ANGELINO’S COFFEE

Your K-Cup Has Been Sitting in a Warehouse for Months

That grocery store pod? It was roasted long before it hit the shelf. Coffee starts losing flavor within weeks of roasting — which is why your morning cup tastes flat, no matter how nice your machine is.

Angelino's does it differently. A third-generation roaster in Los Angeles, they roast, grind, and seal every pod in-house for peak freshness, then ship it to your door within days of roasting. The difference is the first thing you'll notice: real aroma, real flavor, no bitterness.

Mix and match from 50+ specialty coffees, teas, and flavored blends — all Keurig®-compatible — and save more with every box you add, up to 34% off at 12+. Order once whenever you're running low, or subscribe for an extra 5% if that's easier. Entirely up to you.

New customers get 15% off their first order — applied automatically, no code needed.

Taste the Fresh Difference

2. How Texas Became An Enrollment Battleground

“Driving on the highway through Dallas is like encountering a running advertisement for higher education.

Heading southbound on the bottlenecked I-35E, at least eight campuses, university medical centers, and academic colleges pass by in as many miles. Static or digital billboards half the length of a basketball court pepper the roadway. They might tout a Forbes “Top Colleges” accolade, or a Division I football team, or a high-demand credential.

The reason is clear: The area is teeming with students to recruit. And they’re not just in this region, but across Texas. The Lone Star State welcomes more than 1,000 new residents daily and is one of just 12 states that expects to have more high-school graduates by 2041 than it did in 2023, according to the most recent “Knocking at the College Door” report from the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, or WICHE.”

» Why It Matters. “Putting boots on the ground has been a key part of colleges’ strategy. About one-quarter of nearly 300 job postings for regional recruiters in the last four years named Texas as a territory, according to an AI-assisted analysis of listings placed through The Chronicle. That was three times the number of mentions as each of the two runners up, Illinois and California.”

» Reality Check. “While states like California, Illinois, and New York continue to produce large numbers of college-bound students, their birth rates are declining — shrinking the pool of projected high-school graduates. Alfred University, a small, private college in rural New York, is exploring Texas’ role in its growing out-of-state strategy amid “tough” recruiting conditions locally, says Christie Smith, vice president for enrollment management. The college saw a nearly 5-percentage-point drop in the number of admitted New York residents who’ve placed deposits for this fall compared to last year.”

» Worth Noting. “Over four crucial months, from August to November, the battle for Texas students reaches a fever pitch. Days can start at 7 a.m. and wrap past 8 p.m. Recruiters may visit as many as five high schools a day. The car mileage racks up quickly. From mid-August to late October last year, Genesis Garcia, who now serves as associate director of Texas recruitment for Knox College, in Illinois, drove about 4,000 miles for work — more than double what she drove from November to June.”

3. Why Whittier Brought Football Back

“Three years after Whittier College committed to rebuilding enrollment and strengthening its fiscal health, 103 student-athletes are on campus preparing for the return of the Poet football program. For Whittier College President Kristine Dillon, their presence signals success in helping to rebuild enrollment and strengthen the College's financial future.

Whittier, which first fielded a football team in 1907, faced enrollment and financial challenges similar to many small colleges nationwide. In 2022, the College discontinued several athletic programs, including football, to reduce expenses.

Whittier's enrollment had fallen from roughly 1,700 students before the pandemic to fewer than 700. Dillon developed a five- to six-year strategic plan focused on growing enrollment and fundraising.”

» The Tradition. Whittier’s football history includes NFF College Football Hall of Fame coach Don Coryell, Pro Football Hall of Fame coach George Allen, and U.S. President and NFF Gold Medal recipient Richard Nixon.

» What They’re Saying. "I needed people to trust that Whittier was the same school they cared about," Dillon said. "I needed to improve morale, and football was a big part of what many people thought showed it was the college they knew and loved. So, in some ways, it was symbolic of Whittier's past connecting to its future. "Bringing football back confirms Whittier's resilience. For small colleges today, it's important to be able to show you've got a plan and it's got momentum."

» The Rest of the Story. “Whittier recruited 35 freshmen during a developmental year without games, allowing new coach Cory White to build his staff and roster. The 103 football student-athletes are widely engaged in campus life today and would likely not have otherwise enrolled. Overall enrollment has climbed to approximately 950, with entering classes increasing 15% to 20% annually during Dillon's three years. The goal is a sustainable enrollment of 1,400.”

» Worth Noting. The Poets defeated CETYS University of Tijuana, 56-20, on Saturday for their first win since restoring the program.

4. The NFL and #WhyD3

Twitter tweet

5. Comings and Goings

BETHANY - Riley LaBoe named head softball coach
BLUFFTON - Parted ways with head football coach Chris Hedden. Named Cody Crawford interim head coach
BREVARD - Bobby Cashman named head tennis coach
CEDAR CREST - Jamie Bowne named head swimming coach
CENTENARY (La.) - Christopher Holoman announced his retirement as president effective June 30
GUILFORD - Karli Sewell named strength and conditioning coach
NAZARETH - Dennis Walker promoted to associate head men’s basketball coach
U. of DALLAS - Billy Manley named head softball coach
WHEATON (Mass.) - Jay Lanigan named head men’s lacrosse coach
WISCONSON-STEVENS POINT - Jake Cekander named assistant baseball coach

6. Plays of the Weekend 

Twitter tweet

Twitter tweet

☕️  Thanks for starting your day with us.
Please support D3Playbook with a subscription

Copyright © 2026, D3Playbook.com All rights reserved

SEPTEMBER 11, 2026
compiled by STEVE ULRICH
No publication covers NCAA Division III better. #whyD3

🎗️ Never Forget. September 11, 2001.

✡️ Happy New Year. It’s the first night of Rosh Hashanah. To those who celebrate, Shanah tovah.

🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. The Rising. Bruce Springsteen

Top Story

1. College Football Is Back. So Is The Fight Over Who Controls Its Billions

“Millions of dollars are flowing into Washington to shape the rules governing the millions of dollars now flowing to college athletes.

Coinciding with the kickoff of the college football season, the Senate is planning a vote between Sept. 15 and Sept. 26 on the Protect College Sports Act – a sweeping bill that would establish federal guardrails for the new college sports economy in which schools can pay players directly.

The measure has sparked a surge of lobbying from broadcasters, athlete‑advocacy groups, individual universities and their athletic conferences. Although the Senate bill was introduced just weeks before the second quarter closed, more than 90 organizations had already referenced it or its House counterpart by name in their lobbying disclosures through June 30. Together, those groups reported $31.4 million in lobbying activity during the quarter – a figure that reflects all of the issues they worked on, not just the Protect College Sports Act, since federal reports do not break out spending by individual bill.”

» State of Play. “The Senate is racing to act before the pre-election window closes – but House leaders on Sept. 3 canceled the final two weeks of the session before the election, meaning any Senate-passed bill couldn’t reach the House floor until November at the earliest.”

» Making Their Voices Heard. “The bill – which also includes provisions governing collective media rights negotiations – has drawn attention from several major broadcast and cable companies. The National Association of Broadcasters and NCTA – the Internet and Television Association lobbied the legislation. Amazon, Paramount Skydance and Disney Worldwide Services also each referenced the bill in their lobbying disclosures. A total of 60 colleges and university systems lobbied the measure during the second quarter. That includes 36 members of the NCAA’s four most powerful conferences – the Southeastern, Big Ten, Big 12 and Atlantic Coast. The ACC, SEC and Big 12 also filed their own lobbying reports on the legislation.”

» Dark Money. “But the most vocal organization pushing for the legislation is Saving College Sports, the group Texas Tech Board of Regents chairman Cody Campbell founded in February 2025 with a stated purpose of advocating for legislation and rules to support intercollegiate athletics. Since its formation, it has spent $820,000 lobbying the federal government on bills and issues related to college sports. Because Saving College Sports – formally, Americans for the Preservation of Intercollegiate Athletics, Inc. – is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit that does not have to disclose its donors, the true source of its funds may never be publicly known. An attorney for the organization declined to identify its donors when OpenSecrets requested them.”

A MESSAGE FROM ANGELINO’S COFFEE

I Almost Threw Out My Keurig. It Wasn't Broken.

Every cup from my Keurig started tasting weak, flat, stale — so I unplugged it and stuck it in a closet. Then I learned the dirty secret of grocery store K-Cups: by the time a pod reaches your kitchen, it's usually spent months going from factory to warehouse to truck to shelf. The flavor oils are long gone. Some brands even over-roast to hide it.

The fix wasn't a new machine. It was fresh pods from Angelino's, a family-owned L.A. roastery that roasts, packs, and ships within 3–5 days — straight to your door, from 39¢ a cup. Over 1,000,000 happy customers. 50+ flavors, no subscription required, and 15% off your first order, applied automatically at checkout.

Try 35¢ Pods

2. How Military-Style Workouts in College Sports Get Dangerous

“Arizona State hockey player Matthew Mayich remains hospitalized after collapsing during a workout conducted at campus facilities on Aug. 20.

The offseason session was run by Tim Zeisel, a former Green Beret who was not an ASU employee. According to multiple reports, Zeisel conducted the approximately one-hour morning workout in roughly 90-degree temperatures, which led 21-year-old Mayich to develop exertional heat stroke that caused a lack of oxygen to the brain.

Zeisel’s lawyer told The Arizona Republic that the workout, which was the first in a planned three-day program, was mid-intensity, “not a Green Beret or SEAL workout.” Mayich’s legal counsel, Rob Carey, has disputed this. Regardless of each party’s description of the ASU session, third-party, military-inspired workouts have become part of elite-athlete training at both the college and pro levels.”

» What It’s All About. “There’s no strict definition for what constitutes “military-style” training. Adam Annaccone, a clinical associate professor in kinesiology at the University of Texas at Arlington, tells Front Office Sports they can often include simple exercises like sprints or crawls, usually performed at high volume or intensity and with limited recovery. He believes the idea of putting teams in situations of adversity is good for training and leadership. So, when things get dangerous, it’s not necessarily due to the “military” nature of the workouts themselves. Rather, it’s when the authorities facilitating them haven’t evaluated the plans in advance from a physiological-principle standpoint to make sure they’re safe and effective, or put in place action plans to address emergencies if they do occur.”

» What’s Next. “That leaves individual institutions responsible for evaluating each plan and creating a governance system. This is what Tufts did following a military-style conditioning session in 2024 that left nine students hospitalized. Tufts has instituted a stringent “vetting process” on any proposal for third-parties to work with its athletes; now, conditioning is conducted almost exclusively by its own internal athletic-department staffers.”

» Yes, But. “In the meantime, Annaccone believes military-inspired sessions will continue. “Everyone’s looking for that little bit of competitive advantage. You’re trying new things and different types of activities to see what connects and what can pull a team together. You’re asking, ‘What’s one thing that would make us a little bit better or help us win a championship?

3. How a Marriage of Equals Turned Into a ‘Hostile Takeover’

Otterbein University

“Once billed as a cutting-edge marriage of equals, the partnership between Antioch University and Otterbein University is now mired in divorce court.

The roots of the conflict were embedded at the beginning of the relationship, in the founding of what was billed as the joining of two equal institutions into a partnership called the Coalition for the Common Good. Their differences came to be exacerbated by early decisions that turned out to be consequential, and they were further accelerated after leadership changes. And, like many divorces, it’s turned messy.”

» Court Awareness. “Antioch and Otterbein each entered the partnership for its own reasons. Antioch officials saw the move as the culmination of a yearslong search for a partner institution. They wanted to pair Antioch’s low-residency graduate programs, which are intended to increase educational opportunities for students traditionally shut out of them, with an undergraduate feeder program. Otterbein, meanwhile, wanted to preserve its identity as a small liberal-arts college, which was distinct from Antioch’s brand as a provider of graduate education for adults.”

» She Said. “We’ve worked for the last months to do everything we can to reconcile,” Lori E. Varlotta, Antioch’s president, told The Chronicle. She cited a litany of breaches in the relationship stemming from a closed-door meeting by the leaders of the CCG: Their vote to dissolve Antioch’s board, take over its bank accounts, insert themselves as liaison to its accreditor, and then fire her. “I just don’t imagine that the Antioch board has a lot of trust that a partnership with this particular group of educational leaders would be in the best interest of Antioch moving forward,” she said. In its court filings, Antioch characterizes the partnership’s actions as a “hostile takeover.”

» He Said. “We’d had no issues in that structure for the first two, two and a half years,” said John L. Comerford, Otterbein’s president. That’s when those who were present at the founding of the partnership were still involved in its operations, and everyone was moving “in lockstep,” he said. “Maybe nine months or so ago, we started to get this tension in the system.”

4. Lightning Round ⚡️ 

» Remembering Todd Beamer. ““Let’s roll.” Those were the last two words from Todd Beamer. Sept 11, 2001, Beamer, a 1991 graduate of Wheaton (Ill.) College and a two-sport athlete, was on United flight 93 when the plane was hijacked. While on the phone, he uttered those words as he and other passengers and crew tried to fight back. The plane would eventually crash in an open field in Pennsylvania.”

» Lacrosse. “Salisbury University women's lacrosse head coach Jim Nestor will be enshrined as a "truly great coach" to the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame Class of 2026, announced by USA Lacrosse on Thursday morning. Nestor will be inducted into his second hall of fame after being a part of the IWLCA (Intercollegiate Women's Lacrosse Coaches Association) Hall of Fame Class of 2024.”

5. Comings and Goings

CROWN - Stephen Ridings named head baseball coach
EDGEWOOD - Announced addition of flag football as a varsity sport in spring 2028
FRANKLIN & MARSHALL - Brianna Simkus resigned as head women’s basketball coach. Jacob Robinson named interim head coach
SOUTHERN MAINE - David Chadbourne will take a leave of absence as head women’s basketball coach. Shea Kimball named interim head coach
SOUTHWESTERN - Christine Chen named assistant golf coach
TUFTS - Heather Ross named head softball coach
URSINUS - Tim Koch named head tennis coach
WHEATON (Mass.) - Brenden Casey named head baseball coach
WISCONSIN-OSHKOSH - CJ Dwyer named assistant men’s soccer coach

6. The Man in the Red Bandana

ESPN’s SC Featured remembers former Boston College lacrosse player Welles Crowther, who led people to safety after terrorists struck the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

☕️  Thanks for starting your day with us.
Please support D3Playbook with a subscription

Copyright © 2026, D3Playbook.com All rights reserved

SEPTEMBER 10, 2026
compiled by STEVE ULRICH
No publication covers NCAA Division III better. #whyD3

😎 G’day, Thursday.

📆 What’s Happening Today. The DIII Strategic Planning and Finance Committee meets virtually at 11 AM EDT,

🔈️ What We’re Hearing. “It’s a team game and I always play for the guy next to me.” - Keystone senior DL Jayvon Swann

🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. Ready To Go. Republica

Top Story

1. Will Schumer Go Long For College Sports?

“Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is about to step into a political minefield as the Senate takes up a college sports bill as soon as next week — with perhaps as many reasons for his caucus to oppose it as support it.

Senators return to Washington on Monday to a three-week window for legislating before they depart until November — and internal splits on both sides of the aisle are threatening passage of legislation to impose new federal rules on an industry worth tens of billions of dollars.

Schumer must decide if he wants to steer his members toward helping Republicans reach the 60-vote threshold on what could be the sweepiest bill the chamber passes before the midterms.”

» State of Play. “One Democratic Senate aide with knowledge of the negotiations believes there’s enough opposition within the party to tank the measure on the floor as a coalition of labor rights groups and the Congressional Black Caucus warn the bill is exploitative.”

» What They’re Saying. “A good number of Democratic offices aren’t eager to tick off the AFL-CIO and NAACP, screw over college athletes and deliver Trump and Senate Republicans a major political win weeks before midterms,” another Democratic Senate aide with knowledge of the negotiations said.”

» Yes, But. “Even if the bill were to eke by in the Senate, a hefty amount of opposition in both parties is bound to create an uphill battle in the House, where Majority Leader Steve Scalise has been less than enthusiastic about the package.”

A MESSAGE FROM FACTOR

Want chef-crafted, dietitian-designed meals ready in 2 minutes?

Try Factor, America's #1 ready-to-eat meal delivery service.

Made from ingredients you recognize. Whole food. Nothing unnecessary. Let’s eat real.

Get 50% off your first Factor box + Free Breakfast for a year *1 free breakfast item per box for 1 year while subscription active.

Try Factor Now

2. Hill Named NCAA Vice President of Men’s Basketball

“Mike Hill has been named the vice president of men’s basketball for the NCAA, where he will oversee the Division I, II and III Men’s Basketball Championships, as well as the National Invitation Tournament. Hill will replace JoAn Scott, who retired last week after working at the NCAA since 2013. Hill will report to Dan Gavitt, the NCAA’s senior vice president of basketball.

Hill will serve as a primary liaison to the Division I Men’s Basketball Committee in managing the business and selection, seeding and bracketing process of the Division I Men’s Basketball Championship. He will also be a primary liaison to the Men’s Basketball Oversight Committee, which governs and oversees men’s basketball playing and practice seasons, playing rules, and legislation/policies to ensure fair competition and enhance the student-athlete experience.”

» What They’re Saying. “What an honor to help steward one of our nation’s most iconic sporting events and serve a game that has meant so much to me and so many others,” Hill said. “I’m grateful to Dan Gavitt and Charlie Baker for the opportunity, and I can’t wait to get to work alongside our basketball staff, committees and community to further elevate this beautiful game.”

3. Keystone College Comeback Starts With the Ones Who Stayed

Ethan Sadler, Keystone | photo by Timothy R. Dougherty

“Junior running back Ethan Sadler gets asked a lot about why he stuck around Keystone College last season.

There was a lot of uncertainty surrounding the school, questions on if it would even stay open due to financial issues and the threat of losing its accreditation.

Fortunately, the school’s doors didn’t close. But because of the uncertainty, a number of students left and the football team played a JV/club schedule in 2025.

That didn’t matter to Sadler.”

» Why It Matters. "I get asked a million times about it. I always tell people it’s about the guys in the room,” Sadler said. “We had about 20 guys that said they were going to dig their heels into this and put all their eggs into one basket. It’s something people usually advise against. We formed a unique relationship and to come out on the other end of this, it builds a bond that not many can say they have,” Sadler added. “Years down the road, if I have a flat tire. I know one of my teammates will come with a tire iron to help me out.”

» The Big Picture. “The door to victory opened as the Giants rallied for a last-second win over Alvernia in their season opener. With just five seconds on the clock, Keystone ran one final play, and Sadler caught a Hail Mary pass from Frankie Leyshon in the back right corner of the end zone for a 25-21 win.”

» Quotable. “Like Ethan said, it’s about your brothers in the room,” Jayvon Swann said. “You have hope and confidence if you stick it through. I always knew I was going to stick it out. I had no desire to leave. They would have to close the school for me to leave.”

4. Lightning Round ⚡️ 

» Field Hockey. Shenandoah sophomore forward/midfielder Kierney Weigle and Stevens senior midfielder Lauren Flynn were honored as the NFHCA DIII National Players of the Week.

» Fundraising. “The Trinity College Athletic Department established a new annual fundraising record during the 2025-26 academic year. Combining gifts to the Athletic Director's Fund for Excellence and Athletics Equity Initiatives, along with "Friends of" each varsity athletic program, the Athletics Department raised $2.27 million.”

» Admissions. “Momentum for banning legacy admissions practices has seemingly tapered over the past two years, as legislation has stalled in state legislatures, the fate of bipartisan congressional bills is in doubt, and the Trump administration hasn’t indicated any interest in taking up the issue.”

» Financial Aid. “Starting in fall 2027, Wellesley College will guarantee a tuition-free education to students whose families have a total annual income of $200,000 or less with typical assets.”

5. Comings and Goings

ALBERTUS MAGNUS - Angelo Rossetti named head women’s tennis coach 
ALFRED - Jordan Crouch named head tennis coach
BRIDGEWATER - Grace Warren named assistant swim coach
CAL TECH - Doc Eslinger will depart as head men’s basketball coach to take assistant position at an Ivy League institution
DUBUQUE - Fernando Villaescusa named head women’s wrestling coach
RPI - Stephen Thirolle named head women’s tennis coach
SAINT JOSEPH - Megan Bosworth promoted to associate AD for internal operations
SUFFOLK - Ed Leyden will retire as head women’s basketball coach

☕️  Thanks for starting your day with us.
Please support D3Playbook with a subscription

Copyright © 2026, D3Playbook.com All rights reserved

SEPTEMBER 9, 2026
compiled by STEVE ULRICH
No publication covers NCAA Division III better. #whyD3

🐫 What Day Is It? 

🔈️ What We’re Hearing. “It can be hard for students and families to figure out how a college is doing financially. Small colleges tend to provide limited information about their finances in annual public reports. And unlike public institutions, private nonprofits are exempt from public records laws.”

🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. NFL on NBC Sunday Night Football Theme. Champions United

Top Story

1. More Than Half of Colleges Show Signs of Money Problems. Students Will Suffer the Consequences

“Nalia Mutz started her freshman year at the University of Lynchburg in 2022 knowing exactly where she wanted to be four years later: right on track toward her dream of becoming a doctor.

When the university eliminated a dozen majors in 2024, the resulting layoffs left fewer professors to teach the science courses she needed to graduate. She began to fear earning her biomedicine degree the way she’d planned could take two extra years.

“It was just a lot of cuts all around, and then they just didn’t have enough staff,” Mutz, 21, said.”

» Driving The News. “As colleges tighten their belts, millions of students like Mutz feel the consequences. Small, private nonprofit institutions that rely heavily on tuition — like the University of Lynchburg — are likely to be hit hardest.”

» The Big Picture. “Hundreds of four-year colleges and universities show clear signs of financial stress, according to Hechinger’s analysis of a decade of federal higher education data for colleges primarily granting bachelor’s degrees.”

» Why It Matters. “For most universities, financial troubles start with student enrollment. Declines have been accelerating; in 2019, for instance, about 1,050 colleges and universities — or 53 percent — had experienced enrollment drops in three of the previous five years. By 2024, that figure rose to about 1,090 institutions — or 58 percent. The problem is likely going to get worse.”

A MESSAGE FROM 1440 MEDIA

Smart starts here.

You don't have to read everything — just the right thing. 1440's daily newsletter distills the day's biggest stories from 100+ sources into one quick, 5-minute read. It's the fastest way to stay sharp, sound informed, and actually understand what's happening in the world. Join 4.5 million readers who start their day the smart way.

Join for free today!

2. CCIW Goes 1-2 in Football Rankings

Wheaton’s Aiden Byrne blocked the potential game-tying extra point as the
Thunder defeated Mount Union, 24-23

The CCIW holds down the top two positions in this week’s DIII football polls, after North Central and Wheaton recorded top-5 victories. The WIAC also placed two teams in the top 10 i River Falls and Platteville.

» D3football. 1-North Central, 2-Wheaton, 3-Johns Hopkins, 4-UW-Platteville,
5-Bethel, 6-UW-River Falls, 7-Mount Union, 8-Saint John’s, 9-Wartburg, 10-John Carroll

» Inside the (D3FB) Huddle. 1-North Central, 2-Wheaton, 3-Johns Hopkins, 4-John Carroll, 5-Saint John’s, 6-UW-Platteville, 7-Mount Union, 8-Wartburg, 9-Bethel, 10-UW-River Falls

3. Titans Top Volleyball Poll

Defending national champion Wisconsin-Oshkosh received 71 of 76 first-place ballots to earn the top spot in the latest AVCA DIII volleyball poll. Trinity (Texas) picked up the other five firsts to finish behind the Titans, while Illinois Wesleyan is No. 3.

AVCA. 1-UW-Oshkosh (4-0), 2-Trinity TX (4-0), 3-Illinois Wesleyan (5-0), 4-East Texas Baptist (2-1), 5-Berry (2-1), 6-UW-Eau Claire (2-1), 7-MIT (3-0), 8-Colby (0-0), 9-Johns Hopkins (3-0), 10-Juniata (2-1)

4. Captains Move to Front of Field Hockey Poll Line

photo by Sydney Smith

Christopher Newport earned the top spot in the latest NFCHA DIII poll following three wins over top-25 teams. The Captains toppled No. 3 Babson, No. 10 Endicott, and No. 23 Washington and Lee and jumped three spots to assume the top rung on the ladder. Defending national champion Tufts is No. 2.

NFHCA. 1-Christopher Newport (3-0), 2-Tufts (1-0), 3-Salisbury (2-0), 4-Johns Hopkins (1-1), 5-Middlebury (1-0), 6-Babson (1-1), 7-Williams (1-0), 8-Stevens (3-0), 9-Messiah (2-0), 10-Bates (0-1)

5. Lightning Round ⚡️ 

» Volleyball. Berry senior RS Madie Whitehead was selected as the AVCA DIII Player of the Week. She averaged 4.73 kills and 5.64 points per set in a 2-1 weekend.

» Cross Country. Wesleyan junior Dylan Cote and Williams senior Kate Tuttle named USTFCCCA DIII National Athletes of the Week.

6. Comings and Goings

ALLEGHENY - Luke Dieter named assistant director of athletics communications
BRANDEIS - Blake Aronson promoted to associate head men’s soccer coach
ITHACA - Sam Pratt named head men’s rowing coach
URSINUS - Announced addition of flag football as a varsity sport in spring 2028

☕️  Thanks for starting your day with us.
Please support D3Playbook with a subscription

Copyright © 2026, D3Playbook.com All rights reserved

SEPTEMBER 8, 2026
compiled by STEVE ULRICH
No publication covers NCAA Division III better. #whyD3

☺️ Happy Tuesday. Back to work

📆 What’s Happening Today. The DIII Presidents Council Futures subcommittee meets.

🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. All I Wanna Do. Sheryl Crow

Top Story

1. A College Caught in the Middle of America’s Football Obsession

Kingston Askerneese, Oberlin | photo by Colin Morita

“Short on writers and needing to fill pages last October, Ava Harvey did what any sports editor for a small newspaper would have done: she assigned herself a football story. But since Harvey, then a senior at Oberlin College, was writing for the Oberlin Review, covering football was a rather tricky proposition. Oberlin’s team, the Yeomen, had finished 1–9 each of the previous two seasons. When Harvey began working on her column, during the 2025 season, the team was already 0–4, almost halfway to its eventual record of 0–10. A story breaking down Oberlin’s next opponent seemed useless. A feature on the team’s defense wouldn’t work, either. In its season opener, a home game against Calvin University, Oberlin had allowed its opponent to score seventy-four points before the start of the fourth quarter.

The Review has a history of publishing big feelings about football, keeping with the Oberlin tradition of having big feelings about a lot of things. Harvey decided that she wanted to write something “a little more controversial.” Her take? The school and its students should support the team more.”

» Driving The News. “She felt bad for her friends on the team, not just because of their dreadful record but because of what she saw as a stark divide between football players and the rest of the student body. In her article, “Put Your Mouth Where Your Money Is: Back Oberlin Football,” she argued that “the majority of students are, at best, indifferent—if not outright hostile—to the sport.” She also noted that “the homogenized coastal culture historically propagated by the school”—despite Oberlin’s campus being in northern Ohio—“alienates Midwest athletes seeking a sense of home.””

» Reality Check. “Oberlin is a Division III school that, by N.C.A.A. rule, doesn’t offer athletic scholarships. But having a football team, even one that never wins, is a suck on resources. As the Yeomen continued losing games last year, the larger college-football machine kept humming at campuses across the country. A core American truth is that football is a reflection of wherever it exists. Oberlin, it turned out, is no different, no matter how much it might want to be.”

» Of Note. "Football at Oberlin has not always felt so oxymoronic. But the true tradition, no matter the era, is the debate about how—or whether—football fits into Oberlin’s culture. “It’s part of Oberlin folklore to think of athletics as a problem, in some way,” said Sebastiaan Faber, a professor of Hispanic studies.”

» What They’re Saying. “Actually having the football team is the inclusive thing,” Ghulam Woolman told me. “And we don’t need it to be good for it to be meaningful.” In a vacuum, this was an intuitive argument: the idea that, unlike most of higher education, Oberlin can field a team without bending to the country’s football obsession.”

2. College Sports’ Problem With the Substitution Effect

“As most baseball and softball fans know, the challenge for many managers is knowing when to replace the starter with someone from the bullpen. In basketball or soccer, it’s subbing in a replacement.

With that in mind, we wondered if college sports, circa 2027, will eventually suffer from what marketing professors call the “Substitution Effect?” That’s the moment customers start replacing, sometimes en masse, traditional purchases with less expensive alternatives.”

» Driving The News. “The substitution effect acknowledges consumers have choices. You can choose to see a bad football team that didn’t buy a top-notch quarterback and build team depth, or you can go to the State Fair, the movies or out for dinner. You can even stay home and stream Ted Lasso or Slow Horses.”

» Why It Matters. “You see, attending sporting contests ultimately undertakes a value equation tied to entertainment, ambiance, social connectivity and overpriced concessions. When the fan believes there is some parity in the teams participating in a league, that most teams can be competitive all season long, fans willingly suspend belief (their 100% certainty the home team will win) and instead buy into the residual benefits provided by in-person attendance.”

» Worth Noting. “This is where the 1976 social psychology research by Robert Cialdini (and his team) generated the concept of Basking in Reflected Glory (or BIRGing). Their research showed that fans strengthen their association with a successful team even though they played no direct role in producing that success. They found that students were more likely to wear university-identifying clothing following a football victory and, tellingly, were more likely to use the pronoun “we” when describing a win than a loss. The opposite finding, applied to sports fans, the language can shift quickly from “We’re No. 1” after a victory to “They stink” or “They don’t know what they’re doing out there” after a loss. Notice what has happened to the pronoun: “We” became “they.”

A MESSAGE FROM FACTOR

Want chef-crafted, dietitian-designed meals ready in 2 minutes?

Try Factor, America's #1 ready-to-eat meal delivery service.

Made from ingredients you recognize. Whole food. Nothing unnecessary. Let’s eat real.

Get 50% off your first Factor box + Free Breakfast for a year *1 free breakfast item per box for 1 year while subscription active.

Try Factor Now

3. #1 North Central Downs #2 Bethel; #5 Wheaton Ends #3 Mount Union 85-Game Regular-Season Unbeaten Streak

photo by Steve Woltmann

“The Little Brass Bell Brothers pulled off the double win on Saturday, with No. 1 North Central handling No. 2 Bethel with ease and No. 5 Wheaton knocking off No. 3 Mount Union on a blocked extra point in the final seconds.

QB Garret Wilson threw for 325 yards and four TDs as the Cardinals drilled the Royals, 44-26. Purple Raider RB Kayden Minner scored with 22 seconds remaining, but the ensuing extra point was blocked, giving the Thunder a 24-23 victory. The loss was the first for Mount Union in the regular season since 1987.

4. Loras, Whittier Run Afoul of Infractions

The DIII Committee on Infractions found financial aid violations at both Loras College and Whittier College and levied penalties.

Loras’ infractions included “improper awarding of financial aid to international student-athletes in a pattern that was clearly distinguishable from other students at the institution. Specifically, the institution permitted a donor to contribute $214,588 to fund private financial aid awards for four Colombian baseball student-athletes during the 2024-25 and 2025-26 academic years. The institution selected the recipients and awarded the awards to the same four baseball student athletes in both academic years. As a result, the student-athletes received an award totaling at least $24,800 each year. Combined with the institution’s $28,000 international student financial aid award, their total aid packages covered approximately 97% of the cost of attendance for each student-athlete.”

Whittier’s case involved the institution “providing impermissible financial aid awards during the 2024-25 academic year to 11 international men's and women's soccer student-athletes in a pattern clearly distinguishable from the financial aid patterns for all students at the institution. The case also involved a failure to monitor violation. Whittier's enrollment office recommended recruiting prospects from Sweden for the 2024-25 academic year in order to help ease the burden of the institution's enrollment crisis.”

» Loras Resolution. “The parties’ agreed-upon penalties include public reprimand and censure, two years of probation, a $2,500 fine, a Level II review by the Financial Aid Committee and required compliance education for institutional staff responsible for creating or awarding financial aid.”

» Whittier Resolution. “The parties agreed the penalties include public reprimand and censure, one year of probation, a Level II review by the Financial Aid Committee, a fine of $2,500 and compliance education programming with the NCAA staff.”

5. Lightning Round ⚡️ 

» NIL Working Group. “The working group revisited its goals during its August meeting and began to plan a presentation for the 2027 NCAA Convention. Working group members committed to clearly conveying its work from the fall, providing the membership adequate time for discussion and outlining planned work for the spring. The working group provided feedback to finalize the sets of questions that will survey administrators, coaches and student-athletes across Division III regarding the state of name, image and likeness activities.”

6. Comings and Goings

BETHANY - Riley LaBoe named head softball coach 
MORAVIAN - Travis Johnson named assistant athletic director
STEVENS - Senior associate AD Mike Lippencott announced his retirement

☕️  Thanks for starting your day with us.
Please support D3Playbook with a subscription

Copyright © 2026, D3Playbook.com All rights reserved

SEPTEMBER x, 2026
compiled by STEVE ULRICH
No publication covers NCAA Division III better. #whyD3

🏈 It’s Finally Here. And a long holiday weekend as well.

🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. The Heat Is On. Glenn Frey

Top Story

1. Barnes, Mueller-Hickler Named DIIICA Student-Athletes of Year

“The Division III Commissioners Association (DIIICA) has named Rabbit Barnes and Alison Mueller-Hickler the 2025-26 Men's and Women's Sport Athletes of the Year, respectively, recognizing two Colorado College and Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) student-athletes whose accomplishments exemplify the Division III model of excellence in athletics, academics, leadership and community engagement.”

» Rabbit Barnes. “A neuroscience major who graduated with an outstanding 3.972 GPA, Barnes combined national-level success in track and field and cross country with academic achievement, mentorship, leadership and community service.

Barnes was the 2026 NCAA Indoor National Runner-Up and All-American in the mile, adding another national honor to an accomplished career. He was named the 2025 SCAC Track Athlete of the Year and is a six-time individual SCAC Track & Field Champion. He also holds the SCAC conference record in the 800 meters and Colorado College school records in seven events.

Barnes' excellence in competition was matched by his performance in the classroom. He was named a 2025 First Team Academic All-American in Track & Field/Cross Country by College Sports Communicators (CSC) and was a three-time CSC Academic All-District honoree. “

» Alison Mueller-Hickler. “Mueller-Hickler graduated from Colorado College with a 3.913 GPA, majoring in Environmental Science with a minor in History. A standout in both cross country and track and field, she established herself as one of the nation's premier distance runners while making significant contributions to environmental research, student leadership and campus life.

Mueller-Hickler capped her cross country career with an outstanding 2025 season, finishing 26th at the NCAA Division III Cross Country Championship to earn All-American honors. She was named the 2025 West Region Champion and West Region Runner of the Year, as well as the 2025 SCAC Champion and SCAC Runner of the Year.

Her academic accomplishments were equally impressive. Mueller-Hickler was named to the CSC Academic All-District Team in 2024 and 2025 and was a four-time SCAC Honor Roll recipient. In 2025, she received the Crown Goodman Presidential Scholarship, recognizing students with exemplary academic records and significant contributions to the total life of the college.”

A MESSAGE FROM ADVERTISER

America's #1 Ready-To-Eat Meal Delivery Service

Factor is a fully-prepared meal delivery service that features a rotating menu of 100+ weekly meals and 70+ add-ons, all chef-crafted and dietitian-optimized because what you eat is where it starts. 

To support healthy habits, Factor provides personalized nutrition plans through complimentary consultations with our in-house dietitian team. Choose from a variety meal plans, including High Protein, GLP-1 Support, Calorie Smart, and Keto.

By merging gourmet quality with the highest nutritional standards, Factor eliminates the friction of healthier eating. All with real ingredients. Real flavor.

Get 50% off your first Factor box

2. #1 vs. #2 Opens Grid Season

Division III certainly tops DI when it comes to opening-week matchups on the gridiron with two games involving top-5 teams.

In addition to No. 3 Mount Union taking on No. 5 Wheaton (Ill.), the top two teams in preseason Division III polls will square off for the No. 1 position in the country.

No. 1 North Central (Ill.) plays host to No. 2 Bethel in a first-ever matchup between #1-2 in the opening game of the season. The game is a rematch of the 2025 NCAA DIII quarterfinals that saw the Cardinals down the Royals, 35-21, on their way to the Stagg Bowl.

Bethel handed NCC its last home loss, downing the Cardinals, 27-24, in the 2018 playoffs.

3. LSU's 'Test of the System' Just the Latest Byproduct of a Broken College Sports World

“As a plaintiff attorney cross-examined SEC commissioner Greg Sankey on the witness stand in a Louisiana courtroom Thursday afternoon, news broke that his conference had filed a lawsuit against one of his own members.

The SEC sued LSU.

If you're keeping tabs, this is the second time that a league filed a legal challenge against its own school in the last couple of months.”

» Court Awareness. “Just in the last three years, four schools have filed lawsuits against another school or their own player (for buyouts and tortious interference); a group of players or an individual player has twice sued their coach (broken NIL promises); and a conference has sued another conference or one of their member schools at least nine different times (mostly over realignment).”

» State of Play. “College sports remains mired in the worst kind of purgatory. The industry wobbles erratically, caught between the old amateurism model and full-blown professionalism. Its stakeholders disagree on a way forward. Do you push back against mounting legal challenges with conference-wide restrictions? Or lunge forward into a more pro scheme through collective bargaining? There is a group, too, still stacking their eggs in the congressional basket, hoping for a federal bill to regulate the industry — something that took a hit on Thursday morning, when House leaders announced they would end their September session two weeks earlier than expected.”

» Quotable. One power league athletic director summed it up quite nicely on Thursday. "At this point, you got to wonder what people are thinking about our industry," he said. "It's embarrassing."

4. Lightning Round ⚡️ 

» Football. “The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) is bringing fans closer to the action with the launch of The MIAA Pulse, a new weekly football television program produced by Calvin Video Productions throughout the 2026 MIAA football season.”

» Tax-Exempt Status. “Private colleges could lose their federal tax-exempt status if they engage in diversity, equity and inclusion work, under a proposed rule issued by the U.S. Department of Treasury on Thursday. The IRS tax code does not grant tax-exempt status to private colleges that discriminate based on race. The Treasury’s proposal would align the agency’s definition of racial discrimination with a January 2025 executive order from President Donald Trump that declared DEI policies and programs to be violations of federal civil rights law.”

5. Comings and Goings

ALBION - Nate Frisbie named associate head men’s basketball coach
DICKINSON - Sami Davidson named head softball coach
GETTYSBURG - Sean Mizzoni named assistant men’s basketball coach 
FREDONIA STATE - Nicole Bullock named head women’s basketball coach
KEYSTONE - Quinn Holt named pitching coach. Bobby Lasbury named director of baseball operations
LEWIS & CLARK - Austin Dunham named pitching coach
MORAVIAN - Travis Johnson named assistant athletic director
MOUNT UNION - Randy Smith named associate director for athletic recruitment and development
OTTERBEIN - Olivia Shore named head women’s wrestling coach
ST. JOHN FISHER - Jayden Kelley named assistant women’s ice hockey coach
SPRINGFIELD - Sam Trumbley named coordinator of athletic communications
WELLESLEY - Sarah Altman named diving coach

☕️  Thanks for starting your day with us.
Please support D3Playbook with a subscription

Copyright © 2026, D3Playbook.com All rights reserved

SEPTEMBER 3, 2026
compiled by STEVE ULRICH
No publication covers NCAA Division III better. #whyD3

 😎 Hey There, Thursday

📆 What’s Happening Today. The 2026 DIII football season begins today.

🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. CBS College Football Theme. Lloyd Landesman

Top Story

1. Learning More About the NPI

Last Tuesday, the NCAA Division III governance staff conducted a webinar outlining the NCAA Power Index, commonly known as the NPI, for member institutions.

The staff is in the midst of creating documents with education of each sport’s dials and all formulas; bringing all materials into one location on the NCAA.org web page; and creating training video(s) covering the educational information.

In 2026-27, Division III will enhance the NPI with greater frequency in data pushes with a majority of sports pushing twice weekly and then daily two weeks prior to the selection, as well as an earlier initial push date than previous. The staff will also create “what-if” scenarios for staff/committees to assist with selections and bracketing preparation.”

A MESSAGE FROM FACTOR

Want chef-crafted, dietitian-designed meals ready in 2 minutes?

Try Factor, America's #1 ready-to-eat meal delivery service.

Made from ingredients you recognize. Whole food. Nothing unnecessary. Let’s eat real.

Get 50% off your first Factor box + Free Breakfast for a year *1 free breakfast item per box for 1 year while subscription active.

Try Factor Now

2. The Reinvention of Liberal Arts Colleges

“Maintenance employees buzz around outside the admissions building, sprucing up the campus for commencement as, inside, a new crop of prospective students and their parents take their seats for a presentation from a recruiter.

It’s a typical scene in the longstanding cycle of American higher education. But at many institutions—including Brandeis University, where this group of 42 potential applicants has gathered—this once straightforward process has been stood on its head. Instead of waiting for new students to show up and make their cases, universities and colleges are in the uncharacteristic position of having to plead their own.”

» The Problem. “The problem, myriad surveys over the last 10 years have shown, is that consumers are increasingly questioning the return on an investment in a higher education. This poses a particular challenge for liberal arts schools such as Brandeis, just outside Boston, whose annual sticker price will reach nearly $98,000 for residential students in the new academic year. Yet most have done little to effectively respond to it.”

» The Solution. “Until now. As the crisis becomes existential, some colleges and universities are finally confronting this threat by doing the seemingly simplest possible thing: setting out to make good on their implicit promise that specific classes and majors lead to jobs. And few are doing that as aggressively as Brandeis.”

» DYK? “Liberal arts graduates are in surprising demand in the technology industry, where they actually outnumber graduates from technical programs, a study by the Strada Institute for the Future of Work found. LinkedIn discovered that more liberal arts than computer science and engineering graduates were being hired by tech employers—mostly to work in sales and marketing but also as software developers.”

3. Cash-Strapped Colleges Are Draining Their Endowments to Survive

“A college endowment is supposed to last forever, supporting students, professors and research in perpetuity.

Instead, many cash-strapped schools are draining their nest eggs just to stay alive.”

» Driving The News. “Faced with multi-million dollar deficits, Hiram College in rural Ohio borrowed from its $56 million endowment. The 1,000-student liberal arts school — which boasts a statue of US President James Garfield, who worked as a janitor there to pay his tuition — eventually pulled more than $47 million from the fund. It even tapped money that donors had explicitly set aside for specific purposes, not for balancing the budget.”

» Of Note. “Nearly 200 private colleges borrowed from restricted endowment funds in 2025, up from about 130 in 2021, according to estimates from higher-ed consulting firm Perspective Data Science. Other colleges have avoided loans but are drawing more from their endowments each year than advisors consider sustainable. Analysts liken both strategies to borrowing from a 401(k) — it may help in the short-term but carries long-term risks, such as downgrading a school’s credit rating.”

» Reality Check. “Schools generally assume their endowments’ value will grow 7% to 8% per year on average over the long-term, according to the American Council on Education. They budget accordingly, trying to draw no more than 5% of the value in a given year. But as the financial pressure on them increases, many schools with relatively small endowments have been pulling more from their funds. Colleges with endowments of $51 million to $100 million have increased their spending rate by more than a third since 2016, reaching 5.5% in 2025 compared to 4.1% in 2016.”

» Quotable. “What a lot of these small colleges do is they think that things are going to turn around,” Hiram president David Haney said. “‘If we just invest in new athletic facilities, everything is going to be fine.’ In most cases, that doesn’t happen. To me, that’s why borrowing from the endowment and taking out debt is not the way to go about it.”

4. Lightning Round ⚡️ 

» Education. “Four Michigan colleges, including Adrian College, are offering 90-credit bachelor’s degrees, which is 30 credits and one year less than the traditional timeline.”

» Politics. “New York’s private colleges and universities are facing fiscal challenges and enrollment declines that advocates warn could lead to more closures without additional support from the state.”

» Tuition. “Ripon College, a highly regarded private liberal arts college in Wisconsin, will expand its financial aid program by matching the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s in-state tuition rate for incoming students from any state in the nation.”

5. Comings and Goings

ALBRIGHT - Nicole Blair resigned as head women’s lacrosse coach to take similar position at Kutztown
CORNELL COLLEGE - Frank Haege named head flag football coach
CORTLAND - Mackenna Brown named assistant women’s lacrosse coach
EASTERN MENNONITE - Chris Madison named head softball coach
ELMIRA - Eliza Beaudin named head women’s ice hockey coach
HOLLINS - Kevin Board named head tennis coach
NICHOLS - Sierra Cardenas named head women’s lacrosse coach
ROANOKE - Kayla Maxson named assistant women’s basketball coach
TUFTS - Trevor Appier named head men’s rowing coach
WASHINGTON and LEE - Emme Levinson named head women’s tennis coach
WILLIAM SMITH - Tim Riskie named interim head women’s tennis coach

Top Story

6. So There’s This $499 AI Dyson Camera Toothbrush

“After finding success with floors and hair, Dyson hopes your mouth will be its next frontier. The air-bending gadget company launched an AI-powered electric toothbrush yesterday that doubles as a sharpshooting water pick.

Open wide for the CameraJet. Dyson’s $499 oral product is geared toward people who lie to the dentist about how often they floss, and who are willing to pass their sink time by viewing a livestream of their teeth rather than scrolling.”

☕️  Thanks for starting your day with us.
Please support D3Playbook with a subscription

Copyright © 2026, D3Playbook.com All rights reserved

SEPTEMBER 2, 2026
compiled by STEVE ULRICH
No publication covers NCAA Division III better. #whyD3

🐫 What Day Is It? Yep, hump day. 

🔈️ What We’re Hearing. “There will come a point when every college football fan will decide if they've had enough — if the sport has drifted too far from its golden days to enjoy any longer. That day came for boxing and horse racing.”

🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. September. Earth, Wind & Fire

Top Story

1. College Athletics Is Eating Itself

“You ever read a college sports headline in the year 2026, step back for a second, and think, How did we get here?

• How did we get to the point that players on actual NFL rosters are rejoining the college ranks?

• How did we get to the point that Congress — freaking Congress! — is trying to step in and regulate college athletics?

• How did we get to the point that federal, state and district courts, not coaches, schools, conferences or the NCAA, are deciding who can and can't play college football?

• How did we get to the point where players can hop from school to school, heedless of either tradition or common sense, turning entire rosters into hordes of roaming freelancers and destroying any lasting connection with their university?

• Seriously, how did we get to the point that the greatest sport in America — we will hear no counter-arguments — has devolved from joyful celebration of everything that makes sports great into vindictive, litigation-filled chaos? How many times can this sport keep fumbling the ball in the open field?”

» Court Awareness. “In the same way that you can pinpoint the exact moment when a tight football game reaches its apex — inside two minutes, fourth down, trailing team deep in the leading team's territory — you can sense that we're at the hinge point for all of the courtroom- and congressionally incited madness of the past few years.”

» Why It Matters. “As we saw with NIL, when outside institutions start taking a hard look at the way colleges do business, the entire superstructure is in real danger of collapse. The games would continue, the band would keep playing, but the idea that college football could devolve and dissolve into a collection of disconnected leagues, much like minor-league baseball, isn't as far-fetched as you might think.”

» Worth Noting. “You can trace all of the "How-did-we-get-to-the-point-wheres" to the tsunami of revenue rolling into the sport, money that effectively obliterates decades of tradition. Every time Money and Tradition collide, Money wins in a five-touchdown rout. But nobody roots for Money. Every single grubby money-grab, every tacky justification, every courtroom filing only tarnishes the game a little more.”

A MESSAGE FROM FACTOR

Want chef-crafted, dietitian-designed meals ready in 2 minutes?

Try Factor, America's #1 ready-to-eat meal delivery service.

Made from ingredients you recognize. Whole food. Nothing unnecessary. Let’s eat real.

Get 50% off your first Factor box + Free Breakfast for a year *1 free breakfast item per box for 1 year while subscription active.

Try Factor Now

2. Democrats Face a Tough Call: Cut a College Sports Deal With Trump, or Hold Out?

“After warring with President Donald Trump for more than 20 months, Senate Democrats are considering a high-profile bipartisan deal with him that would reshape college sports.

Their party is in a tricky spot on the subject. The Democratic coalition is fractured over the legislation championed by Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash. — the AFL-CIO, NAACP, and Congressional Black Caucus oppose it, raising questions about its ability to clear the narrowly divided House even if it can pass the Senate.

But historically Black athletic conferences support the bill, as does the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, the United Negro College Fund, and college sports’ power conferences. If that’s enough to get the Senate Democratic votes needed to pass it, Republicans can claim a high-profile bipartisan victory just weeks before the midterms.”

» Court Awareness. “The sweeping bill shepherded by Cantwell and Cruz would formalize so-called NIL rules, which govern student-athletes’ moneymaking abilities while enrolled; place some restrictions on overall spending on athlete salaries; restrict conference realignment; limit transfers for athletes; and allow pooled media rights.”

» Yes, But. “Privately, some Democrats believe they could craft an even better college sports bill if they retake one or both chambers of Congress next year.”

» Why It Matters. “Some Democrats believe they may never get a better deal than this one.”

3. American Rivers Conference Adds Two For the Pool

“The American Rivers Conference (A-R-C) announced today that its Presidents Council has approved Illinois Institute of Technology and the University of Minnesota Morris as affiliate members in men's and women's swimming & diving, beginning with the 2026-27 academic year.

The addition of Illinois Tech and UMN Morris expands the conference's men's and women's swimming & diving membership to five programs, providing additional opportunities for conference championship participation. These two will join Coe College, Loras College, and Nebraska Wesleyan University from the A-R-C at the 2027 championship. Central College will be the sixth program beginning in the 2027-28 academic year.”

» What They’re Saying. “Welcoming Illinois Tech and the University of Minnesota Morris as the American Rivers Conference’s first affiliate members is a historic and meaningful moment for our conference," said Marie Stroman, A-R-C Commissioner. “Affiliate membership gives the A-R-C a thoughtful way to build competitive opportunities while remaining grounded in what defines our conference: achievement rallied by community. As our first affiliate members, Illinois Tech and Minnesota Morris help put an important strategic priority into action by strengthening the competitive environment for men’s and women’s swimming & diving and enhancing the experience for every student-athlete involved.”

4. Lightning Round ⚡️ 

» Football. “The nationally televised Secretaries' Cup rivalry between the United States Merchant Marine Academy and the United States Coast Guard Academy will continue to be showcased on ESPN networks through 2030 following a new five-year media rights agreement between ESPN and the two academies.”

» Women’s Wrestling. “A $1 million commitment from Bob Ortenzio ’79 to endow the women’s wrestling head coaching position will provide lasting leadership for one of Gettysburg College’s newest sports. This endowment will expand opportunities for student-athletes and help the College build a nationally competitive program grounded in ambition, stability, and long-term support.”

» Basketball. “For the first time in conference history, the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) Men’s & Women’s Basketball Championships will move from a member institution’s campus to a neutral site as Shreveport-Bossier prepares to host the tournament at Brookshire Grocery Arena.”

5. Comings and Goings

UC SANTA CRUZ - Scott Davis named interim head women’s basketball coach
FRANKLIN - Jennifer Brinegar named head swimming and diving coach
MANHATTANVILLE - Brandon DaSilva named head men’s volleyball coach
McMURRY - Ryun Anderson named head cross country coach
TRANSYLVANIA - Devon Sanders named pitching coach
WISCONSIN-OSHKOSH - Quin Smith named assistant sports information director
WISCONSIN-STEVENS POINT - Caleigh Potocki named assistant strength and conditioning coach

☕️  Thanks for starting your day with us.
Please support D3Playbook with a subscription

Copyright © 2026, D3Playbook.com All rights reserved

SEPTEMBER 1, 2026
compiled by STEVE ULRICH
No publication covers NCAA Division III better. #whyD3

🎆 Hello, September.

📆 What’s Happening Today. The 2026-27 fall season gets underway

🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. Start Me Up. The Rolling Stones

Top Story

1. The New Year

Welcome to September and the start of the new athletic year in NCAA Division III.

It is the eighth year for D3Playbook and we remain committed to providing you with all the news you need to know about DIII, the NCAA, and college athletics in general so you can make the decisions needed to advance your institution.

It takes time and effort to make the Playbook. My 35-year experience in college athletics, as well as 25 years serving as a DIII commissioner, gives me insight that you will not find anywhere else on the internet.

I know that you can get DIII news from College.Town and other sources for free. And these folks do a great service. But I contend that D3Playbook provides the best information in the best format for you - the reader - that you can find anywhere. We’re here every weekday during the academic year with what you need to know to be a better administrator.

So I ask you to support our work with a subscription. A monthly subscription of $8 works out to approximately 36 cents per day. A yearly subscription is even more cost-effective.

Thank you for your support in the past and I appreciate your support moving forward.

🍸️ To a great 2026-27

A MESSAGE FROM FACTOR

America's #1 Ready-To-Eat Meal Delivery Service

Factor is a fully-prepared meal delivery service that features a rotating menu of 100+ weekly meals and 70+ add-ons, all chef-crafted and dietitian-optimized because what you eat is where it starts. 

To support healthy habits, Factor provides personalized nutrition plans through complimentary consultations with our in-house dietitian team. Choose from a variety meal plans, including High Protein, GLP-1 Support, Calorie Smart, and Keto.

By merging gourmet quality with the highest nutritional standards, Factor eliminates the friction of healthier eating. All with real ingredients. Real flavor.

Get 50% off your first Factor box

2. How to Watch Your Team(s)

The start of the 2026-27 DIII athletic campaign means family and friends need to know where to watch their favorite players and teams.

» FloSports (14). Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC); American Southwest Conference (ASC); City University of New York Athletic Conference (CUNYAC); Landmark Conference; Little East Conference (LEC); New England Women’s and Men’s Athletic Conference (NEWMAC); Northwest Conference (NWC); Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC); Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC); Southern Athletic Association (SAA); Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC); Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC); USA South Athletic Conference; University Athletic Association (UAA).

» Hudl TV (18). American Rivers Conference (A-R-C); Atlantic East Conference; Centennial Conference; College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin (CCIW); Conference of New England (CNE); Empire 8 Conference (E8); Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference (HCAC); Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC); Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC); Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA); Midwest Conference (MWC); Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC); North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC); New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC); Presidents Athletic Conference (PAC); State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC); Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC): Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC)

» Individual Arrangements (10). Coast-to-Coast Conference, College Conference of the South, Liberty League, Great Northeast Athletic Conference, New Jersey Athletic Conference, North Atlantic Conference, Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference, Skyline Conference, St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, United East Conference.

3. FloCollege Opens 2026-27 Season with Expanded Distribution Network, New Products and Content to Grow Fans for 20+ Conference Partners

“he 2026-27 season marks the biggest leap forward yet for FloCollege, and fans won’t have to wait long to see the impact across 20+ NCAA partner conferences.

Beginning this month, FloCollege is dramatically expanding how fans discover, watch, and share all levels of college sports through an expanded national distribution network on Prime Video and YouTube, along with free game archives 24-hours after games finish.

The launch of the FloSports Channel on Amazon Prime Video is a game-changer for partners at all levels in all sports, giving Prime Video’s more than 100 million monthly viewers access to a curated selection of FloCollege live events and original programming. These events will be positioned prominently alongside games from the NFL, NBA and UEFA Champions League among many others, elevating the profile of featured FloCollege partners to new heights.”

» Of Note. “For the first time, game archives will be free to watch 24 hours after every live event on the FloCollege website and app. This gives student-athletes, recruits and fans an easy way to revisit and share memorable moments while providing a managed library of past events for partner schools.”

» Social Media. “FloCollege is also introducing a live clipping tool built by FloSports that allows schools to create and publish highlights to social media in real time. Combined with continued investment in the FloSports Production Suite and professional cloud-based graphics, these technologies will allow schools to amplify their student-athletes, engage fans on social media and produce better broadcasts than ever.”

» What They’re Saying. “Our strategy has always been about investing where others haven’t, and initiatives like Prime Video distribution, the FloSports Production Suite and new technologies for fans are all examples of that commitment. This season represents an important milestone, but there’s a lot more ahead,” said John Turner, Vice President and General Manager of FloCollege.

4. Lightning Round ⚡️ 

» Officials. “The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin has announced the hiring of three new officiating coordinators ahead of the 2026-27 academic year. Kenny Ritchie has been named the CCIW Coordinator of Men’s Wrestling Officials, Jason Salley will serve as the CCIW Coordinator of Women’s Wrestling Officials and Jason Smith has been named the CCIW Coordinator of Softball Officials.”

5. Comings and Goings

EARLHAM - Reiss Naylor named head tennis coach
EASTERN - Samantha David named head cross country coach
MARTIN LUTHER - Hans Steinbrenner named athletic director 
PIEDMONT - Dustin Meadows resigned as head men’s golf coach for similar position at Lehigh
SUNY MARITIME - Kelci Hegg named head women’s soccer coach
WESTMINSTER (Mo.) - Janelle Harrison named head cross country/track and field coach
WILLIAMETTE - Brendan Goler named head softball coach
WPI - Adam Coffin named to athletic training staff

☕️  Thanks for starting your day with us.
Please support D3Playbook with a subscription

Copyright © 2026, D3Playbook.com All rights reserved

AUGUST 31, 2026
composed by STEVE ULRICH
No publication covers NCAA Division III better. #whyD3

🌅 Good Monday Morning. Just one more sleep.

📆 What’s Happening Today. The DIII NIL Working Group meets virtually today.

🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. Ring of Fire. Social Distortion

Top Story

1. College Sports Kicks Off Its Season Under the Long Shadow of Court Fights Over Eligibility

“Imagine the Dallas Cowboys threatening to sue the NFC East, then teams in the division saying they won’t play them unless they remove a player from their roster. No well-run pro sports league would dream of it.

College sports? Threats, lawsuits and instability are now as common as play-action passes and handoffs.”

» Court Awareness. “As Barbara Osborne, a professor at the North Carolina law school who is an expert on NCAA governance put it: “The difference between a professional sports league and collegiate athletics is literally night and day.” Indeed, most colleges are public institutions whose athletic departments are a small part of the overall equation on their campuses. Unlike pro sports, where finances usually rule the day, decision-makers in college come from classrooms, boardrooms and research programs. Even when teams in a certain conference (like the SEC) or division (like Division I) agree, the decisions don’t always lead to smooth sailing.”

» Reality Check. “On all the different forms the eligibility issue takes, the courts are having quite a say. The smartest plaintiffs’ attorneys are doing a good job shopping for judges sympathetic to their cases — and there are more than 30 at the moment with nearly 400 athletes involved. Most claim it is unfair to exclude high school Class of 2022 athletes the way the NCAA rule did, but it’s also clear that many athletes hoping to come back can count on money — revenue-sharing, NIL deals — that were not available six years ago.”

» Worth Noting. “One of the most pressing issues is a federal antitrust exemption, the likes of which most pro sports have some part of but college does not. Not having it has left the NCAA and its schools open to legal challenges for decades. The most notable — and the genesis of the trouble college sports currently finds itself in — involved players’ right to earn endorsement money.”

A MESSAGE FROM FACTOR

Want chef-crafted, dietitian-designed meals ready in 2 minutes?

Try Factor, America's #1 ready-to-eat meal delivery service.

Made from ingredients you recognize. Whole food. Nothing unnecessary. Let’s eat real.

Get 50% off your first Factor box + Free Breakfast for a year *1 free breakfast item per box for 1 year while subscription active.

Try Factor Now

2. Football Preview

Harrison Hensley, Coast Guard | photo by Brad Clift

The 2026 DIII gridiron season kicks off on Thursday with a 13-game slate. Here’s what you need to know to get ready for the new campaign.

» D3Football Preseason Rankings. 1-North Central, 2-Bethel, 3-Mount Union,
4-Johns Hopkins, 5-Wheaton, 6-UW-Platteville, 7-UW-River Falls, 8-John Carroll,
9-Wartburg, 10-UW-La Crosse

» AFCA Preseason Rankings. 1-North Central, 2-Bethel, 3-Mount Union, 4-Johns Hopkins, 5-Wheaton, 6-UW-Platteville, 7-UW-River Falls, 8-John Carroll, 9-Wartburg, 10-UW-La Crosse

» InsideThe(D3fb)Huddle Preseason Rankings. 1-North Central, 2-Mount Union, 3-Bethel, 4-Johns Hopkins, 5-John Carroll, 6-Wheaton, 7-UW-La Crosse, 8-Saint John’s, 9-UW-Platteville, 10-Wartburg

» Players to Watch (Offense). Andrew Belford (OG, Sr., Christopher Newport); Harrison Hensley (RB, Sr., Coast Guard); Cortez Jones (OT, Sr., North Central); Joe Pruchnic (OG, Sr., Adrian); Albert Rundell (WR, Sr., Bethel); Garret Wilson (QB, Sr., North Central)

» Players to Watch (Defense). Jason Bateman (LB, Sr., Eastern); Phil Conant (DT, Sr., Bethel); Giani Derameaux (DT, Sr., Rowan); Nolan Hartsel (LB, Sr., Baldwin Wallace); Nazair Jean-Lubin (CB, Sr., Cortland); Galen Limantour (DE, Sr., Susquehanna); Conner McDonald (DT, Sr., Wartburg); Kaiden Roden (LB, Sr., Hardin-Simmons)

» Players to Watch (Special Teams). Cade Johannsen (P, Sr., Linfield); Austin Niederkohr (Jr., ST, Heidelberg); Joel Perez (So., PR/KR, Delaware Valley); Cooper Tracy (P, So., Adrian).

» Returning Rushing Yds/Game Leaders. Harrison Hensley (Sr., RB, Coast Guard), 156.5; Drew Miller (Sr., RB, Heidelberg), 138.3; Nahjiir Seagraves (Sr., RB, N.C. Wesleyan), 137.3; Mekhi Wilson (Sr., RB, UMass Dartmouth), 129.4; Bubba Mustain (Jr., QB, Merchant Marine), 127.1.

» Returning Pass Efficiency Leaders. Garret Wilson (Jr., North Central), 197.8; Brady Kelly (Sr., Coe), 190.0; Mikey Maloney (Jr., Mount Union), 189.2; Trey Feeney (Sr., Saint John’s), 176.3; Alex Thole (Sr., Hope), 168.5.

» Returning Receiving Yds/Game Leaders. Grayson Kerscher (Sr., Denison), 123.9; Albert Rundell (Sr., Bethel), 122.8; Chris Downs (Sr., Saint Vincent), 120.5; Eli Aston (Jr., Mount St. Joseph), 119.0; Westin Bruce (Sr., Hendrix), 110.9.

» Returning Sack Leaders. JP Chaney (Sr., Aurora), 14.0; Galen Limantour (Sr., Susquehanna), 13.5; Tyler Sordillo (Sr., Springfield), 11.5; Bobby Medina (Sr., North Central), 10.0; Phil Conant (Sr., Bethel), 10.0.

A MESSAGE FROM ANGELINO’S COFFEE

Fresh-Roasted Coffee, Without Leaving the House

A third-generation LA roaster ships 50+ coffees — single origins, flavored favorites, decafs, even teas — days after roasting. Mix and match Keurig®-compatible boxes for tiered savings up to 34% off. First order? Take an extra 15% off, automatically.

Taste It Fresh

3. Lightning Round ⚡️ 

» Membership. The DIII Membership Committee denied requests from Mary Baldwin, Medgar Evers, and York (N.Y.) for minimum sports-sponsorship requirement waivers, citing insufficient mitigation in all three.

4. Comings and Goings

ADRIAN - Landyn VanWyk named assistant women’s wrestling coach. Bradley Hawkins named assistant track and field coach
CHICAGO - Stacey Conley named deputy athletic director for internal operations
CURRY - Freddy Rivera named head softball coach
GENEVA - Wendy Smith announced her retirement as head women’s volleyball coach after the season. Jason Wargo named director of cross country/track and field
HAMPDEN-SYDNEY - Aaron Miranda named assistant baseball coach
KENYON - Scott Denne named head squash coach
MEREDITH - Chase Strawser named assistant director of athletic communications
PENN STATE ALTOONA - Kenneth Michaud named head men’s tennis coach
RANDOLPH-MACON - Natalie Fyock named assistant field hockey coach
RHODE ISLAND COLLEGE - Alison Kleinebreil named assistant women’s gymnastics coach. Christa Walsh named assistant athletic trainer
SUNY CANTON - Shannon Platt, Kamryn Barnes and Jon Bovair named assistant women’s soccer coaches. Kiley Zicari named assistant women’s volleyball coach
SUSQUEHANNA - Nick Tosoni named assistant women’s basketball coach
WESTERN NEW ENGLAND - Larisa Taylor added to athletic training staff

☕️  Thanks for starting your day with us.
Please support D3Playbook with a subscription

Copyright © 2026, D3Playbook.com All rights reserved

AUGUST 28, 2026
composed by STEVE ULRICH
No publication covers NCAA Division III better. #whyD3

🎉 TGIF. The last Friday before we get rolling.

🔈️ What We’re Hearing. Today would be a great day to subscribe to D3Playbook.

🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. Summertime Blues. Bruce Springsteen

Top Story

1. Manchester to Leave NCAA DIII For NAIA Membership

“Manchester University has accepted an invitation to join the Crossroads League, pending acceptance into the NAIA, with membership beginning in the 2027-2028 academic year.

Located in North Manchester, Ind., Manchester University will become the 11th member of the Crossroads League and the first institution added to the league since Mount Vernon Nazarene University joined in 2010.

Manchester University will begin the transition process in preparation for Crossroads League competition during the 2027-2028 academic year.”

» Of Note. “The Crossroads League has established itself as one of the NAIA's premier conferences, combining national-level athletic success with academic excellence and a distinctive commitment to Christ-centered intercollegiate athletics.”

» What They’re Saying. "We are honored to join the Crossroads League, one of the NAIA's premier conferences," said Manchester president Stacy Young. "Throughout this process, we were seeking more than athletic competition. We were looking for partners who share our values and our belief that athletics should be an extension of an institution's educational mission. The Crossroads League's commitment to faith, character development, academic excellence and student success made it an exceptional fit for Manchester.”

A MESSAGE FROM ANGELINO’S COFFEE

15% Off Your First Order of Fresh-Roasted Pods

Most K-Cups sit in a warehouse for months before they reach your brewer — and you can taste it. Angelino's, a third-generation roaster in Los Angeles, does it differently: every pod is roasted, ground, and sealed fresh in-house, then shipped to your door within days of roasting.

Choose from 50+ specialty coffees — single origins, dark roasts, flavored favorites like Jamaican Me Crazy, plus decafs and teas — all compatible with your Keurig® brewer. Mix and match any coffees you like, and watch the savings climb: bulk discounts start at 5+ boxes and reach up to 34% off at 12+.

And here's the best part: new customers get an extra 15% off their first order, on top of bulk savings. It's applied automatically at checkout — no code, no subscription required. Free shipping on orders over $49 or 4+ boxes.

Fresh coffee shouldn't require a coffee shop.

Get 15% Off Today

2. New Paper Takes Aim at ‘Meritocratic’ Admissions Policies

“Despite the Trump administration’s claims that some of the nation’s most selective colleges have admitted legions of students with low test scores to advance racial diversity, new research shows that’s largely not happening.

Instead, a working paper published by the National Bureau of Economic Research this week used decades of federal data to lay out the reality: The most accomplished high school graduates—who tend to come from higher-income families—make up the vast majority of students enrolled at the nation’s best resourced, selective public and private institutions. Meanwhile, their peers with lower standardized test scores, who are more likely to come from lower-income families, more often end up at higher education institutions that spend far less on each student’s education—if they go to college at all.”

» By The Numbers. “For example, in 2019, spending on per-student instruction increased 29 percent for every 100 average SAT points of enrolled students, according to the report. At the same time, roughly two-thirds of students at Ivy League and other top-50 private universities—and more than half of students at state flagships—came from families in the top income quintile. Income distributions of students at less selective public and two-year colleges were broader and more reflective of national income distributions.”

» What They’re Saying. ““It’s taken for granted that the objective of college admissions is picking out the smartest students, and that somehow it will all be better for everybody if they go to the most selective schools, and the students who aren’t as well prepared go to less selective schools,” Jesse Rothstein, director of the Center for Studies in Higher Education at the University of California, Berkeley said. “There’s just not much evidence for that assumption.”

3. Women’s Volleyball Preview

With the return of All-Americans Sami Perlberg, Lauren Grier and Grace Juergens, defending national champion Wisconsin-Oshkosh is the preseason favorite as the AVCA released its preseason Division III poll.

The Titans, who broke Juniata’s three-year stranglehold on the title, were the unanimous pick for the top spot, followed by Trinity (Texas), Berry, East Texas Baptist, and Colby.

» Preseason AVCA Rankings. 1-UW-Oshkosh, 2-Trinity TX, 3-Berry, 4-East Texas Baptist, 5-Colby, 6-La Verne, 7-UW-Eau Claire, 8-Illinois Wesleyan, 9-Calvin, 10-MIT

» Players to Watch. Emerson Baum (MB, Jr., Otterbein); Ava Brovet (S, So., Berry); Naomi Clauhs (OH, Sr., Ohio Northern); Lauren Grier (MB, Sr., UW-Oshkosh); Maiwenn Kamdje (RS, Jr., Tufts); Kayleigh May (S, Sr., MIT); Molly Mishinkash (MB, Jr., Juniata); Cayley Elena Morrison (MB, Sr., Kean); Brady Moseley (OH, Sr., Colby); Sami Perlberg (OH, Sr., UW-Oshkosh); Wesley Slavin (S, Sr., Ithaca); Maddie Whitehead (RS, Sr., Berry); Delainey Winkel (OH, Sr., Dubuque).

» Returning Kills per Set Leaders. Jadyn Orava (Jr., John Jay), 5.06; Brielle Worley (Sr., Gallaudet), 4.85; Logan Hickey (So., Franciscan), 4.82; Maura McAusland (Sr., Vassar), 4.54; Sami Perlberg (Sr., UW-Oshkosh), 4.52.

» Returning Assist per Set Leaders. Kayleigh May (Sr., MIT), 11.12; Delainy Williams (Jr., William Smith), 10.91; Niya Nash (Sr., Batten), 10.56; Wesley Slavin (Sr,m Ithaca), 10.54; Addeson Jenniges (Jr., Northwestern), 10.50.

» Returning Hitting Percentage Leaders. Molly Mishinkash (Jr., Juniata) 41.5; Victora Pariseault (Sr., Lasell), 41.4; Keira McCaffrey (Jr., Misericordia), 40.8; Cayley Elena Morrison (Sr., Kean), 39.6; Maren Miller (Sr., St. Olaf), 38.7.

» Career Coaching Victories. Julie Jenkins (Trinity TX), 1132-448; Mark Birtwistle (Eastern), 871-283; Paul Dill (MIT), 792-221; Mark Massey (Puget Sound), 752-453-8; Bryan Snyder (W&L), 714-240; Ed Garza (Austin), 709-369.

4. Foreign College Athlete Placement Firms Face a World of Uncertainty 

“Gonzalo Corrales has been in the business of placing international athletes at American colleges long enough not to panic when the inevitable late-summer snags arise. But by early July, when the United States Embassy in Madrid was still not scheduling appointments for his Spanish clients to obtain U.S. student visas, Corrales was starting to get nervous.

Still, he preached patience to the hundreds of aspiring college athletes who had hired his firm, Keystone Sports, to help them run the increasingly complicated gauntlet to an American campus: securing a scholarship or roster spot, obtaining the necessary visa and arriving in time for preseason practice.”

» Situational Awareness. “Keystone Sports, a subsidiary of Oslo-based Keystone Education Group, employs a common fee model, charging between $3,900 and $10,000 to help international athletes find their foothold in intercollegiate athletics, from the NCAA Division I to NAIA levels.”

» Why It Matters. “The company touts its connections to college programs, guidance on finding the right fit and logistical assistance, particularly when it comes to visa paperwork. That process—and the business built around it—has become increasingly fraught over the past two years.”

» Worth Noting. “The funnel of foreign athletes to American colleges, which had experienced steady growth for years, is beginning to show its limits.”

5. Lightning Round ⚡️ 

» Basketball. “The Landmark Conference will return to Philadelphia’s historic Palestra for its fifth annual Landmark Conference Gameday, bringing together four men’s and women’s basketball matchups at one of the most iconic venues in college basketball during its 100th anniversary season.”

» Ice Hockey. The Hockey News concluded its “Top Five Most Viable DIII Schools For DI” series by selecting Hobart at No. 1.

» Field Hockey. The NFHCA posted its preseason Watchlist, recognizing the 204 athletes who have demonstrated a high level of achievement and are considered among those with strong potential for NFHCA All-Region and All-American consideration this season.

6. Comings and Goings

ALLEGHENY - Nadine Khalil named assistant tennis coach
BATTEN - Bri Cooper named associate head softball coach
BERRY - Evan Voss named assistant men’s lacrosse coach
CHICAGO - Danny Quinn named assistant men’s basketball coach. Jarod Crumpley named assistant men’s basketball coach
COLBY - Matt Brisotti named head men’s tennis coach 
MARIETTA - Robert Weber named head men’s rowing coach
MEREDITH - Jaina Kelly named athletic trainer
PACIFIC - Sarai Seekamp named head track and field coach
REGIS - Maggie Barden named associate AD for student-athlete welfare and compliance
ST. JOHN FISHER - Brianna Harzula promoted to assistant athletics communications coordinator
ST. OLAF - Ziling Zhen and Jacob McNamara named assistant women’s basketball coaches
TUFTS - Emma Zavala named civic engagement administrator for athletics
WAYNESBURG - Brett Shimek named head baseball coach

☕️  Thanks for starting your day with us.
Please support D3Playbook with a subscription

Copyright © 2026, D3Playbook.com All rights reserved

AUGUST 27, 2026
composed by STEVE ULRICH
No publication covers NCAA Division III better. #whyD3

😃 Happy Thursday. The countdown continues.

🏐 What’s Happening Today. The AVCA releases its DIII women’s volleyball preseason poll.

🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. Crazy Little Thing Called Love. Queen

Top Story

1. 20 Students Honored By DIII Commissioners

“The Division III Commissioners Association (DIIICA) is proud to announce the 20 outstanding student-athletes selected as the 2025-26 Regional Student-Athlete of the Year winners. These prestigious awards, now in their fourth year, recognize graduating seniors who have demonstrated excellence in athletics, academics, leadership, and service throughout their collegiate careers.

Each regional winner now advances to the national ballot for the DIIICA Men's Sport Student-Athlete of the Year and DIIICA Women's Sport Student-Athlete of the Year awards, which will be announced next month.

Graduating seniors were the only student-athletes eligible for nomination. Each conference was permitted to submit up to two nominees for each gendered award, provided at least one was an international student or from an ethnic minority background. Selection was based on four key areas:

• Academic Achievement

• Athletic Excellence

• Service and Leadership

• Personal Statement

Voting took place among commissioners within each of the 10 Division III regions. The top male and female honoree in each region will be considered for the two national awards.

Region I. Scott Gyimesi (Tufts); Caroline Adams (Middlebury)
Region II. Levi BenAvram (Brandeis); Annika Naveen (MIT)
Region III. Isaiah Brunache (Cortland); Maddie Lowney (St. John Fisher)
Region IV. Ethan Hagen (Stevens); Lauren Sullivan (Stevens)
Region V. Logan Campbell (Scranton); Molly White (Scranton)
Region VI. Matt Conroy (Shenandoah); Elyse Warren (Millsaps)
Region VII. Ethan Manske (Kenyon); Sophie Bull (Calvin)
Region VIII. Adrian Manchado Cano (MSOE); Jessa Alderman (MSOE)
Region IX. Eric Kinkaid (Loras); Jess Palmer-Sammons (Macalester)
Region X. Rabbit Barnes (Colorado College); Alison Mueller-Hickler (Colorado College)

A MESSAGE FROM SHORTFORM

Learn From the Books Top Leaders Read.

Great businesses are built on great ideas. Shortform gives you the ideas, frameworks, and strategies from the books that have shaped modern business.

Explore books on:

• Leadership: Become a more effective leader and build stronger teams.

• Strategy: Learn how the world's best companies think and compete.

• Entrepreneurship: Discover ideas for building, launching, and growing businesses.

• Productivity: Work smarter and focus on what actually moves the needle.

From Good to Great to The One Thing, Shortform breaks down the books behind the biggest business ideas.

Why Shortform?

• Learn from thousands of nonfiction books

• Get the key insights without reading every page

• Understand concepts through examples and analysis

• Turn ideas into action

Get 49% OFF

2. UW-La Crosse, NYU Top Preseason Cross Country Polls

“The NYU women are a unanimous No. 1 while three men’s teams received first-place ballots, topped by UW-La Crosse, as the USTFCCCA released its 2026 NCAA Division III preseason cross country polls.

The defending national champion Violets return four All-Americans from a year ago, headlined by Grace Rowley. Williams is in the No. 2 spot and the Ephs welcome back three All-Americans, including Tamar Byl-Brann.

On a conference level, both the NESCAC and UAA have five teams in the top-30 nationally. The NESCAC has three in the top six, yet the UAA might have the most depth with five in the top 15.

» Preseason Top 10 (W). 1-NYU, 2-Williams, 3-Johns Hopkins, 4-CMS, 5-Middlebury, 6-Tufts, 7-Chicago, 8-UW-La Crosse, 9-Pomona-Pitzer, 10-Washington U.

The two-time defending national champion Eagles edged Johns Hopkins by a single point for the top spot. UWL looks to replace four All-Americans from last year’s championship squad. The Blue Jays must find a replacement for 2025 individual national champ Emmanuel Leblond, but return sophomore All-American Anthony Clark.

» Preseason Top 10 (M). 1-UW-La Crosse, 2-Johns Hopkins, 3-NYU, 4-Wartburg,
5-Geneseo, 6-Tufts, 7-Chicago, 8-Pomona-Pitzer, 9-RPI, 10-Carnegie Mellon.

3. Lawsuit Filed Against Hanover After Elimination of Women’s Swimming Program

“Four members of the Hanover College women’s swimming team filed a Title IX lawsuit against the school on Tuesday for discriminating against female student-athletes.

The college announced it was cutting both its men’s and women’s swimming teams in March, with “facility maintenance concerns, projected increases in operational costs, and declining roster size” among the reasons mentioned by Vice President for Athletics Mark Shook in an email sent to donors at the time.

On Tuesday, women’s team captain Lucy Schoenlein, along with teammates Tallulah Frazier, Shelby Geraghty and Anna Williams, filed the class-action lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, accusing Hanover of depriving women equal opportunities to participate in varsity sports.”

» Court Awareness. “The swimmers are being represented by Arthur Bryant of Arthur Bryant Law, who has served as lead counsel of several other women’s swim & dive programs suing their schools on Title IX grounds. According to Bryant, Hanover cut both the men’s and women’s swim teams despite the school already providing women with approximately 170 fewer opportunities than required by law.”

» Quotable. “Hanover’s elimination of its women’s swimming team is a flagrant violation of Title IX,” said Bryant. “According to the most recent publicly available information, women were 50.34% of Hanover’s undergraduates in 2024-25, but they were given only 34.86% of the opportunities to participate in varsity sports. Hanover needs to add around 170 opportunities for women to reach gender equity. It should not be eliminating any women’s teams.”

» Of Note. “According to Arthur Bryant Law, counsel for the swimmers sent a letter to the school in May requesting a meeting to discuss the Title IX implications of the decision to cut the women’s team. The meeting was accepted, but “the school refused to agree to continue the women’s team and come into compliance with Title IX,” Arthur Bryant Law said in its press release. “So, the women filed suit.”

4. Lightning Round ⚡️ 

» Legal. “Four members of the Hanover College women’s swimming team filed a Title IX lawsuit against the school on Tuesday for discriminating against female student-athletes.”

» Anniversary. “The North Atlantic Conference (NAC) is proud to announce the celebration of its 30th anniversary, marking three decades of providing intercollegiate athletics opportunities for student-athletes across the Northeast. In honor of the milestone, the conference has unveiled a new 30th anniversary logo.”

5. Comings and Goings

AMHERST - Leo Galarza named assistant women’s tennis coach 
CHATHAM - Tyler Love named assistant men’s ice hockey coach
CHRISTOPHER NEWPORT - Logan Shassian named assistant men’s lacrosse coach
ILLINOIS WESLEYAN - Sadie Newton named assistant women’s lacrosse coach
MEREDITH - Bryn Haden named assistant soccer coach
SARAH LAWRENCE - Rachel Rose named head cross country coach
SUSQUEHANNA - Sharif Hashim named vice president for athletics
VASSAR - Izzy Rennoldson named assistant women’s soccer coach
WASHINGTON COLLEGE - Tom Primosch named head men’s basketball coach
WILLIAM PEACE - Derick Disch named head men’s golf coach
WESTERN CONNECTICUT - Ashley Ahlstrin and Jake Rioux named assistant women’s ice hockey coaches
WISCONSIN-La CROSSE - Ainsley Allen named assistant soccer coach. Cole Contardi named assistant tennis coach. Maya DeGeorge named assistant women’s lacrosse coach. Allisa Gurtner named staff athletic trainer

☕️  Thanks for starting your day with us.
Please support D3Playbook with a subscription

Copyright © 2026, D3Playbook.com All rights reserved

AUGUST 26, 2026
composed by STEVE ULRICH
No publication covers NCAA Division III better. #whyD3

😢 Hey, Wednesday. Tumble out of bed. Stumble to the kitchen. Pour myself a cup of ambition.

🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. 9 to 5. Dolly Parton

Top Story

1. Coaches Refuse to Say 'No'

Gif by cbs on Giphy

“The ruling out of a Baton Rouge courtroom allowing tight end Dae'Quan Wright to blaze a trail from Cleveland Browns training camp to LSU's roster is like a ship slamming into an iceberg on a sunny day.

Why couldn't the NCAA avoid something that was so easy to see in the distance?

If we were to slice up the pie of blame for the latest legal embarrassment that turns eligibility for college football into a fly-by-lawsuit mockery, the NCAA of course gets a huge piece. By changing the rule this year to allow athletes five years of eligibility but cutting out the recruiting class of 2022 from an extra year of NIL riches, it practically guaranteed the NCAA would get sued and lose. (What else is new?)”

» Court Awareness. “Another slice would go to the judge who, like so many of his colleagues across the country, was dragged into a legally ambiguous case with relatively low stakes and opted for the locally beneficial outcome.”

» The Bottom Line. “But do you know who deserves more blame? The people who lack the willpower to say one simple word: No.”

» Reality Check. “Many coaches and administrators — none quite so shame-free as those at LSU — are merely continuing in the grand tradition of college sports that says the mere threat of your competitors doing something ethically questionable justifies being the first to do something ethically questionable.”

» The Final Word. “Unfortunately, fairness in college sports tends to be in short supply. Someone always has more roster money, a bigger stadium, a better schedule, better advocates among the talking heads on TV. Now those who have the more creative and effective legal strategy tend to come out on top.”

A MESSAGE FROM SHORTFORM

Turn Great Books Into Better Habits.

The best ideas from the best books, distilled into practical insights you can actually use.

Go deeper on ideas like:

• Atomic Habits: Build better habits with small, consistent changes.

• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Develop principles for a more effective life.

• The Meaning of Your Life: Explore what actually makes life meaningful.

With Shortform, you get the key ideas, arguments, and insights from thousands of nonfiction books, all in one place.

Why Shortform?

• Bite-sized guides you can finish in minutes

• Key ideas explained clearly and in context

• Practical takeaways you can put into action

• New books and ideas to explore every day

Get 49% OFF

2. Field Hockey Preview

Tufts received 18 of a possible 19 first-place ballots to earn the preseason No. 1 position in the NFHCA Division III field hockey poll.

The defending champion Jumbos outpointed national runnerup Johns Hopkins with Babson receiving the other top ballot for third place.

» Preseason Top 10. 1-Tufts, 2-Johns Hopkins, 3-Babson, 4-Christopher Newport, T5-Bates, T5-Salisbury; 7-Middlebury, 8-Wesleyan, 9-Dickinson, 10-Endicott.

» Conference Call. NESCAC (8), Centennial (4), ODAC (3), C2C (2), MAC Commonwealth (2), NEWMAC (2), NJAC (2), CNE (1), MAC Freedom (1).

» Players to Watch. Penny Baroni (Jr., F, Babson); Shea Bennett (M, Sr., Stevenson); Haley Dwight (D, Sr., Bates); Emily Ferguson (F., Sr., Bowdoin); Lauren Flynn (D, Sr., Stevens); Maddie Greco (F, Sr., Union); Ella Greico (F, Sr., Geneseo); Caitlin Hoover (F, Sr., Franklin & Marshall); Courtney Hughlett (M, Sr., Christopher Newport); Marli McDorman (M, Sr., Salisbury); Faith Minickene (Jr., GK, Endicott); Khanyisile Mzizi (M, Sr., Lynchburg); Isabelle Nahon (D, Jr., Hamilton); Riley Perkins (D, Jr., Endicott); Samantha Souza (F, Jr., Bridgewater State).

» Returning Leading Goal Scorers. Samantha Souza (Jr., Bridgewater State), 33; Ella Greico (Sr., Geneseo), 28; Brooke Farquhar (Jr., Colby-Sawyer), 28; Caitlin Hoover (Sr., Franklin & Marshall), 23; Emma Gebhart (Sr., Denison), 20; Abbie Zuber (Sr., Bridgewater State), 20.

» Career Goal Scoring Leaders. Maddie Greco (Sr., Union), 49; Ella Greico (Sr., Geneseo), 48; Emma Gebhart (Sr., Denison), 46; Samantha Zouza (Jr., Bridgewater State), 45; Brooke Farquhar (Jr., Colby-Sawyer), 43.

» Winningest Active Coaches. Sharon Pfluger (TCNJ), 685-148-9; Dawn Chamberlin (Salisbury), 602-141-8; Amy Watson (Keene State), 514-245-11; Katharine DeLorenzo (Middlebury), 501-134-2; Nicky Pearson (Bowdoin), 405-110.

stats provided by NCAA Stats

3. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Pomona-Pitzer to Star As Panam Sports ‘28 Training Hubs

An overview of the athletic facilities at the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps university complex in Claremont, California (Photo: Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Athletics)

“Last week’s announcement of the Panam Sports pre-Olympic training camp program with Greater Ontario California (GOCAL), for June and July of 2028 illustrated the unique impact of university facilities on the 2028 Olympic Games.

While the announcement focused on the City of Ontario, a significant portion of the facilities to be used by athletes prepping for the Los Angeles Games will actually be at two adjacent university groups: Claremont McKenna College, Harvey Mudd College and Scripps College, known as Claremont-Mudd-Scripps or “CMS,” and Pomona College and Pitzer College, known as “Pomona-Pitzer.” Both groups compete as members of NCAA Division III.

All five schools are adjacent to each other, in Claremont, about 14 miles west of Ontario and 32 miles east of Los Angeles.”

» CMS Housing and Training. Roberts Pavilion for basketball, volleyball and athletic and weight training; Axelrod Pool (25 yards) for swimming, diving and water polo; Burns Track for athletics and football (grass); Pritzlaff Field for football (grass); Parents Field for rugby (grass); Biszantz Family Tennis Center (12 courts), plus residence halls for 1,000.

» Pomona-Pitzer Housing and Training. Center for Athletics, Recreation and Wellness arena for basketball, volleyball and weight training, Haldeman pool (50 m) for swimming, diving and water polo. Strehle Track for athletics; Merritt Field (synthetic) for football; grass fields for football and lacrosse; Pauley Tennis Complex (10 courts), plus residence halls for 1,000.

» Quotable. “The Claremont College community is eager to welcome these competitors from across the Americas. We are very proud of our world-class facilities, including our new stadium complex, which is slated for completion next year.” - CMS AD Erica Jasper

4. Lightning Round ⚡️ 

» Baseball. “The technology rules include giving teams the option, when available, of implementing a system to challenge called balls and strikes that could be used in regular-season and postseason games for the upcoming season. This will be an experimental rule in all divisions for the 2027 season.”

» Track and Field. “The Division II and Division III Men’s and Women’s Track and Field and Cross Country Rules Committee rescinded the optional indoor and outdoor team scoring proposals.”

» Ice Hockey. The Hockey News continues its series of top five most viable DIII schools for DI with Adrian.

5. Comings and Goings

ALFRED - Adam Hertz named director of athletics
CORTLAND - Chad Dunham named head cross country coach 
ITHACA - Jessica Gammons named assistant director of sports medicine
MIT - Dan Schuman named head cross country coach
NYU - Dillon Pottish named head tennis coach. Angel Agu named assistant women’s volleyball coach
PENN STATE HARRISBURG - Daniel Barlet named assistant athletic director. Matt Garrett named head women’s soccer coach. Kendis Butler named assistant director of athletic communication. Theresa Nguyen named assistant athletic trainer
STEVENS - SJ Mull named assistant softball coach
SUSQUEHANNA - Corbin Carraghan named assistant men’s lacrosse coach
TRINE - Travis Hurtis named assistant women’s soccer coach
WISCONSIN-EAU CLAIRE - Lexi Hastings named assistant women’s tennis coach

6. Partial Lunar Eclipse August 2026: Where Will It Be Visible From? 

“Earth's shadow will swallow 96% of the lunar surface overnight on Aug. 27-28, potentially turning the moon a gorgeous shade of crimson as it bathes in light filtered and refracted by our planet's atmosphere.

The partial lunar eclipse will occur as Earth passes between the sun and moon during the monthly full moon phase. Around this time, Earth's curved inner shadow will appear to creep across the lunar surface while leaving a thin crescent exposed to direct sunlight at the point of maximum eclipse.

But who will actually get to see it? As usual, it's all a matter of location.”

☕️  Thanks for starting your day with us.
Please support D3Playbook with a subscription

Copyright © 2026, D3Playbook.com All rights reserved

AUGUST 25, 2026
composed by STEVE ULRICH
No publication covers NCAA Division III better. #whyD3

🤠 G’day Tuesday.

📆 What’s Happening Today. The NFHCA DIII preseason poll is released today.

🔈️ What We’re Hearing. "Our student-athletes represent the determination, teamwork, and spirit that define UNE. By removing admission fees, we're inviting everyone to come cheer on the Nor'easters, enjoy a great game, and become part of our community." - UNE President James Herbert

🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It). Beyonce

Top Story

1. College Sports Advocates Press Philanthropy to Buffer NIL’s Commercial Pressure On Women’s Sports

“While interest in women’s sports is booming and Olympic sports organizers lock in preparations for the 2028 Summer Games in Los Angeles, advocates worry that the college athletic programs that feed both those systems may be strained further by increased demands from bigger sports.

Olympic sports haven’t had the opportunity to thrive on their own, according to Women’s Sports Foundation CEO Danette Leighton, because the business has centered one product: college football.

Leighton is calling on donors to set the agenda. Philanthropy can protect those teams, she said, by endowing scholarships for women’s gymnastics or men’s tennis.”

» Field Awareness. “College sports programs produce around three-quarters of the U.S. Olympians at a typical Summer Games, but some are on uncertain footing in the wake of the $2.8 billion House settlement that allows schools to share more than $20 million in revenue directly with their athletes every year. Most of that money goes to football and basketball. A bill before the Senate would require protections — and funding — for Olympic and women’s sports.”

» Quotable. “There are a lot of philanthropists that are really passionate about women’s sports or men’s Olympic sports,” Leighton said. “They should make sure that that’s where their funding is going directly.”

A MESSAGE FROM FRONTIERAS

 Others Burn Coal. This Company Cashes It In.

One lump of coal holds six separate commodities, and almost every company just sets it on fire. Frontieras North America patented a way to pull diesel, jet fuel, fertilizer, and many more out of the same ton of coal, without burning any of it. Their tech can make coal up to 10X more valuable.

One rock. Six markets totaling $2.1 trillion annually. Patents across nine countries protect the process, too, meaning no competitor can replicate and cut into that revenue once it's flowing. 

Six revenue streams from one raw material means no dependence on a single commodity swinging the wrong way. Invest in Frontieras before the opportunity ends 8/27.

Invest in Frontieras

^{Frontieras is offering securities through the use of an Offering Statement that has been qualified by the Securities and Exchange Commission under Tier II of Regulation A. A copy of the Final Offering Circular that forms a part of the Offering Statement may be obtained from: invest.frontieras.com.  Reservation of the ticker symbol is not a guarantee that we will be listed on the NASDAQ. Listing on the NASDAQ is subject to approvals.   Sources: The global market for our products is worth a combined value of over $2.1 trillion.}

2. North Central Tops AFCA Poll

photo by Steve Woltmann

“For the third straight season, the North Central College football team enters a new year as the preseason favorite in the American Football Coaches Association Preseason Top 25 Poll, the organization announced Monday. The Cardinals received all 50 possible first-place votes.

North Central finished 2025 as the national runner-up, advancing to a sixth straight NCAA Division III National Championship. National quarterfinalist Bethel is the No. 2 choice and will visit Naperville in the season opener.

Rounding out the top five are Mount Union, Johns Hopkins and Wheaton.”

» How It Works. The Division III Board of Coaches will have 2 voters representing each Division III conference. Each coach submits a Top 25 with a first-place vote worth 25 points, second place 24, and so on down to one point for 25th. The Division III Coaches’ Poll will be released on Mondays and will run through the final week of the regular season in November. A final poll will be released the Monday following the NCAA Division III championship game.”

» Top 10. 1-North Central; 2-Bethel; 3-Mount Union; 4-Johns Hopkins; 5-Wheaton;
6-UW-Platteville; 7-UW-River Falls; 8-John Carroll; 9-Wartburg; 10-UW-La Crosse.

3. How to Pick Your NESCAC Football Team With New Auto-Bid to DIII Playoffs

“ESPN’s Bill Connelly wrote a fascinating piece recently for ESPN titled "Your guide to getting the most fun out of college football season," which I read with great interest, particularly the sections on smaller-school football. As a former Division III player, Connelly's advocacy for small-school football over the years has certainly warmed my heart.

That also got me thinking it was time for a piece like this, and time for you, dear reader, to pick a NESCAC team.

To put it bluntly, these are teams that simply do not like each other, with angst that has been simmering not just for decades, but generations. Take the Little Three, as those teams have been playing each other since the 1890s. I played in eight Little Three games during my time in the NESCAC, with each one circled on the calendar the moment the schedule is announced.”

» Field Awareness. “This is the perfect year to start watching the NESCAC and, if possible getting to see a game in person. Because after decades and decades of NESCAC teams being ineligible for the Division III playoffs, 2026 marks the first year that the winner of the conference will earn an automatic spot in the Division III bracket.”

» The Big Picture. “NESCAC, it finally matters more. Now, I'm not going to sit here and tell you which NESCAC team you should follow. That is a decision you need to make with your head, and heart. Maybe there is a team close to you, maybe someone in your family went to one of the NESCAC schools. Maybe you just like the idea of a purple cow, in which case Williams is the school for you. But if you are open to persuasion …”

4. Lightning Round ⚡️ 

» Tickets. “Beginning with the fall 2026 sports season, admission to all regular-season home athletic events at UNE will now be free for members of the public. The change removes the previous $6 ticket price at football, men's and women's basketball, and men's and women's ice hockey games, making it easier for families, alumni, local residents, and sports fans throughout southern Maine to experience UNE Athletics.”

» Ice Hockey. The Hockey News continues its look at the top five most viable DIII schools for DI. Today, Utica.

» Finances. “Hunter College is grappling with a massive $14 million deficit, officials confirmed to The New York Post — after the City University of New York’s board of trustees discussed the flagship school’s dire financial situation during a secret “retreat.”

5. Comings and Goings

BATES - Valeria Nikolaev named head women’s tennis coach
CLAREMONT-MUDD-SCRIPPS - Lexi Nielsen named head women’s golf coach
GRINNELL - Connor McKay named head golf coach
JOHN CARROLL - Vittorio Santillo named associate head wrestling coach
MARIETTA - Greg Myhr resigned as head rowing coach to accept associate head coaching position at Wisconsin
McMURRY - JT Fletcher named head men’s gymnastics coach
MEREDITH - Avdery Smith named assistant cross country/track and field coach
MESSIAH - Ryan Brown named head flag football coach
MINNESOTA MORRIS - Riley Hayes named assistant women’s soccer coach
MORRISVILLE - Nathan Pickett named assistant men’s ice hockey coach 
PACIFIC LUTHERAN - Ryan Sheehy named assistant men’s basketball coach
PLATTSBURGH STATE - AJ Desarro named assistant baseball coach
SAINT MARY’S (Ind.) - Kaiah Bennett and Jade Bohlen named to athletic training staff
ST. NORBERT -Kenna Farrey named assistant ice hockey coach
SUSQUEHANNA - Announced addition of flag football as a varsity sport for 2028
WAYNESBURG - Tyler Rubasky named head baseball coach
WESTMINSTER (Pa.) - Chris Carfangia named head golf coach
WILKES - Alexis Levy named assistant women’s ice hockey coach
WILLAMETTE - Jeff Castagnola named assistant women’s soccer coach
WISCONSIN-EAU CLAIRE - Lexi Meade named head women’s golf coach

☕️  Thanks for starting your day with us.
Please support D3Playbook with a subscription

Copyright © 2026, D3Playbook.com All rights reserved

AUGUST 24, 2026
composed by STEVE ULRICH
No publication covers NCAA Division III better. #whyD3

🔔 Happy Monday. Classes begin for many schools today. Good luck to students and faculty!

📆 What’s Happening This Week. The DIII Membership Committee meets on Thursday. The NFHCA DIII preseason poll is released on Tuesday, while the AVCA DIII preseason poll is available Thursday.

🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. Get the Party Started. Pink

Top Story

1. Court Hands NCAA Temporary Win in Fifth Year of Eligibility Ruling

Ben Pearce, Emory

“Thousands of athletes from the freshman class of 2022 won’t be eligible for a fifth year of NCAA sports—for the time being, according to a new federal court ruling.

On Friday, the Tenth Circuit Court ruled to stay the eligibility injunction granted on July 31 by Colorado district court judge Charlotte Sweeney, which allowed a fifth year of eligibility for players who entered college in 2022 but who had already completed four years of eligibility. Now, their extra year of eligibility has been temporarily suspended until the court reaches a final decision on the appeal, which could take weeks or months.”

» Why It Matters. “The decision will mostly affect fall sports athletes, who had just a few weeks to find a roster spot for this upcoming season. Several football players across the country have already done so. Now, they’ll be sidelined at least until the appeals court rules.”

» State of Play. “In a memo to members Friday, NCAA Chief Legal Officer Scott Bearby confirmed that the NCAA rules will return to the “status quo” for now, but clarified schools won’t be punished for adding players to their rosters after the original injunction—provided they’re now sidelined. “Institutions will not have violations for any class members who were allowed to compete consistent with the scope of the Wisne injunction prior to the stay being granted, and those former student-athletes are no longer eligible under the Wisne injunction.”

A MESSAGE FROM SIMPLE.LIFE

10K Steps Is a Myth–Try This Instead

When motivation is lacking, jumping into heavy routines is the fastest way to burn out. That’s why millions of people are turning to walking as the foundation of their fitness journey.

Walking lets you enjoy the outdoors, clear your head, and practice mindfulness. It’s simple, sustainable, and can support lasting weight loss if you know how much you need. The “10,000 steps a day” rule is outdated; everyone’s lifestyle is different.

With Simple, you’ll get access to habit-based coaching that’s helped users lose over 18 million pounds. Take the quiz to discover your personalized walking target.

Take the Quiz

2. Who’s Your Football Rival?

photo by Stephanie Zollshan | Berkshire Eagle

A football article in “The Athletic” on Saturday asked the question, “Who’s Your Real Rival,” saying it’s not always easy to identify, as sometimes the team you hate the most hates someone else more.

So we decided to give that a go in Division III. I’m sure you’ll let us know how we did.

Top 10 Football Rivalries. 1. Amherst-Williams (Biggest Little Game in America); 2. DePauw-Wabash (Monon Bell); 3. Hampden-Sydney-Randolph-Macon (The Game); 4. Cortland-Ithaca (Cortaca Jug); 5. Coast Guard-Merchant Marine (Secretaries’ Cup); 6. RPI-Union (Dutchman’s Shoes); 7. Coe-Cornell (Victory Bell); 8. Monmouth-Knox (Bronze Turkey); 9. Franklin-Hanover (Victory Bell); 10. North Central-Wheaton (Little Brass Bell).

Established Rivals. Calvin-Hope (The Rivalry); Carleton-St. Olaf (Goat Trophy); CMS-Pomona-Pitzer (Sixth Street Rivalry); Hamline-Macalester (Paint Bucket Rivalry); Lycoming-Susquehanna (Stagg Hat); Moravian-Muhlenberg (Sodexo Cup); Pacific Lutheran-Puget Sound (Totem Pole); Rhodes-Sewanee (Edmund Orgill Cup); Ripon-Lawrence (Doehling–Heselton Memorial Trophy).

Complicated Relationships. Bates, Bowdoin and Colby (CBB); Dickinson, Franklin & Marshall and Gettysburg (Conestoga Wagon, Lincoln Hat, Little Brown Bucket); Wesleyan, Amherst and Williams (Little Three). The WIAC.

Unrequited Loathing. Albion, Kalamazoo and Hope (see The Rivalry); Juniata and Susquehanna (see Stagg Hat); Norwich and Coast Guard (see Secretaries Cup); Occidental and Pomona-Pitzer (see Sixth Street Rivalry).

3. In Memoriam: John Saunders

If you have ever been to Salem, Va., for a NCAA championship, you knew John Saunders.

Saunders passed away on Saturday at the age of 66.

The former Director of Salem’s Civic Facilities, Saunders was omnipresent at NCAA championship events, working alongside longtime co-worker and friend Carey Harveycutter. After his retirement in 2017, Saunders was elected to the Salem City Council, serving from 2018-22, and began another term in 2025.

“John worked relentlessly to bring events to the area knowing they would not only enhance Salem’s statewide and national profiles, but also enhance the entire region economically”, said Harveycutter. “Without John’s input, his connections, and his willingness to work with all groups, many of these events would have never gotten off the ground. He will be sorely missed by me and many others.”

Our condolences to his family, friends and colleagues. May his memory be a blessing.

4. Lightning Round ⚡️ 

» Finances. “Students at some U.S. universities are now able to pay their tuition through Venmo or its parent company, PayPal. PayPal has partnered with three top tuition-payment companies, which collectively service over a thousand universities, to allow students to pay tuition and fees through PayPal and Venmo, according to the announcement.

» Ice Hockey. The Hockey News says St. Norbert has quite a case for moving up to Division I, including opening a 65,000 square foot, 3,000 facility this season.

5. Comings and Goings

CARROLL - Named Brianna Murphy head women’s basketball coach
CARTHAGE - Joe Turner named head men’s lacrosse coach 
COLBY - Adrienne Shibles named head women’s basketball coach
DALLAS - Erik Grafton stepped down as head baseball coach
FRANKLIN & MARSHALL - Maria Henly and Chris Myers named assistant cross country/track and field coaches
GWYNEDD MERCY - Announced addition of women’s flag football as a varsity sport in spring 2027
HUNTINGDON - Annie Morales Narvaez named assistant volleyball coach
JOHN CARROLL - Lauren Simko named head women’s lacrosse coach
NAZARETH - Gail Mann announced her retirement as head women’s soccer coach at the conclusion of the season. Diana Groth named coach-in-waiting
NEW PALTZ - Victor Fernandez named director of athletic communications
PLATTSBURGH STATE - Brad Marshall named head softball coach. Brittany Marshall named assistant softball coach
REGENT - Taylor Dafoe named head men’s volleyball coach
REGIS - Laura Landino stepped down as assistant athletics director/SWA
RIPON - Sal Bando Jr. named head baseball coach
RUTGERS-NEWARK - Alyssa Parsons named head women’s basketball coach
SAINT JOSEPH (Conn.) - Promoted Amanda Devitt to VP for student and campus life. Promoted Wole Oke to director of athletics
SIMPSON - Hope Koerperich named assistant track and field coach
SUSQUEHANNA - Chloe Michaels named assistant women’s soccer coach
TCNJ - Tanner Peake named assistant men’s wrestling coach
TRINE - Megan Theismann named assistant cross country/track and field coach
UNION - Sam Schuffenecker named head women’s golf coach

1 Thing

6. South’s Student Surge

“America's future college pipeline is growing in the South and shrinking across the Northeast and California.

Why it matters: America's next higher-ed reckoning won't hit regions evenly. Colleges in shrinking markets will face a fierce fight for students, while those in growing regions will have to adapt to serve an expanding, more diverse student body.

The nation's student pipeline is also becoming less white, more Latino, more first-generation and more cost-conscious — just as colleges are operating under new legal limits after the Supreme Court ended race-based admissions.”

☕️ Thanks for starting your day with us.
Please support D3Playbook with a subscription

Copyright © 2026, D3Playbook.com All rights reserved

AUGUST 21, 2026
composed by STEVE ULRICH
No publication covers NCAA Division III better. #whyD3

🍹 I’ve Got Friday On My Mind. Penultimate weekend

🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. Friday, I’m In Love. The Cure

Top Story

1. With New Lawsuit, 5th Year Eligibility Battle Reaches NCAA D-III

Ben Pearce, Emory

“A new eligibility lawsuit against the NCAA could give thousands more players a fifth year of eligibility - this time from Divisions II and III.

This week, Division III men’s basketball player Benjamin Pearce filed a federal proposed class action lawsuit arguing that Division II and Division III athletes from the freshmen class of 2022, who had previously completed four years of eligibility, should be granted a fifth year.”

» Court Awareness. “The case, filed in the Southern District of California, asks for an injunction that not only prevents the NCAA from implementing its restrictions on the class of 2022 in D-II and D-III, but also prevents it from enforcing roster limits and revenue-sharing caps from the House v. NCAA settlement as a way to keep these players from landing roster spots.”

» Why It Matters. “If Pearce is successful, the ruling could apply to all lower-division athletes from this group across the country.”

» Of Note. “Pearce is seeking a fifth year in part because he has received interest from multiple D-I programs, the complaint says, which could open doors not just for potential future professional competition, but also NIL (name, image, and likeness) and revenue-sharing opportunities. He was one of the few athletes who entered the transfer portal during the 2026 window.”

2. Sports Reporters Rarely Cover College Athletes As Employees — They Should

“Headlines and news commentary routinely criticize college athletes and, more pointedly, their decisions to transfer to new schools and sign name, image and likeness deals.

Perhaps some of that scrutiny stems from fandom — the intensely personal connections we have with college sports — combined with the insulated, protective structure of collegiate athletics.

But the result is a profound misunderstanding and contextual mischaracterization of college athletes and college sports more broadly. College athletes, after all, did not create the increasingly commercial structure of college sports.”

» Situational Awareness. “The annual transfer rate among traditional college students at four-year universities hovers around 13%. Among NCAA athletes, the transfer rate was 7.7% in 2025, up slightly from 7.3% in 2024. Simply put, NCAA athletes transfer at a lower rate than their non-athlete peers. When athletes do transfer, their reasons are often both rational and familiar.”

» Worth Noting. “Division II and Division III athletic departments have average employee turnover rates of 58% and 44%, respectively. Those figures are comparable to turnover rates in sectors such as food service, general retail, and construction — industries defined by part-time status and consistent labor mobility.”

» The Final Word. “College athletes did not negotiate billion-dollar media-rights agreements, expand athletic department staffs, approve escalating coaching salaries or spark the facilities arms race that for decades has defined major college athletics. Yet athletes are frequently positioned as the source of instability when they transfer, seek greater compensation, or make decisions based on their economic interests. That framing gets the economics backward.”

3. Coast-to-Coast Athletic Conference Stretches From CNU to California, But Is ‘A Home For Everybody’

“Of the 42 conferences in the NCAA’s third and largest division, none has a wider footprint than the Coast-to-Coast Athletic. With members in states along the Atlantic and Pacific, and another in America’s Heartland, it truly is from sea to shining sea.

Which is why the C2C, known as the Capital Athletic from 1989-2020 before expanding and rebranding, is the only conference in Division III that does not set a regular-season conference schedule. Just a postseason championship for its 16 sports (seven men, nine women).

Maybe it’s not an ideal setup. But neither is loading college students on an airplane and sending them across the country multiple times on a D-III athletic budget.”

» Notable. “The 2025-26 season was successful for the Coast-to-Coast. Of the 317 D-III schools listed in the final Learfield Directors’ Cup standings, the Coast-to-Coast had four in the top 90 — CNU was 21st, Salisbury 22nd, Mary Washington 77th and UC Santa Cruz 87th. Only seven of the other 41 conferences had more.”

» Of Note. “Although there is no regular-season conference schedule in any sport, the postseason is bound to involve some airports. Last season, four teams from the Mid-Atlantic states flew to California for championship events in men’s and women’s cross country, women’s volleyball and men’s basketball. Those trips were long hauls involving jet lag, but they also provided valuable experiences.”

» Yes, But. “Going into the 2026-27 season, the C2C faces a numbers issue. The addition of Alverno gave the conference its sixth full Division III member, and that’s the minimum for automatic qualifier status in NCAA events. But as an all-female college that doesn’t compete in tennis or lacrosse, Alverno’s addition will only help the AQ issue in basketball, soccer and volleyball. No other sports, including all of the men’s, will have an automatic qualifier for at least the next two seasons.”

» Quotable. “When we first started (in the C2C), there was a little concern about what it was going to look like. Are we going to be able to fill our schedules with competitive games? But at least from our standpoint, it’s turned into an opportunity to create a unique student-athlete experience.” - Patrick Cutullo. Mary Washington AD

4. Lightning Round ⚡️ 

» Revenue. “The NCAA on Thursday announced it has entered into a sponsorship sales agreement with Playfly Sports, the sports industry’s leading revenue maximization company.”

» DIII Working Group Analysis. “To support the development of the case study, the working group directed staff to collect additional data, including time to degree for Division III students, the number of Division III institutions with graduate programs, information on student-athlete participation in study abroad, internships and co-ops, and the cost associated with attending school for a fifth year. The working group anticipates finalizing the case study at its September meeting. It will then share it with the membership to help frame the discussion on this topic.”

» Streaming. “Beginning this month, select FloCollege events and original programming will reach a wider national audience through the FloSports Channel on Prime Video, YouTube and other FloSports-managed platforms. Fans will also be able to watch game archives for free on the FloCollege website and app beginning 24 hours after each live event ends.”

» Ice Hockey. “The Hockey News says ‘Geographically, Endicott makes sense to join Hockey East. Despite starting play in 2015, Endicott has appeared in eight conference championships, winning five. The team's best season was in 2022-23, going 23-3-2 and reaching the NCAA Semifinals before falling to eventual champion Hobart 3-1. These factors, coupled with a solid group of professional alumni, gets the Gulls the number five spot on our list of most viable DIII Schools to go DI.”

» Compensation. “With universities competing to pay athletes millions of dollars, some states now are propping up their strained sports budgets in ways not previously seen. The state dollars aren’t going directly to star athletes. But by funding facilities and administrative costs normally borne by the schools, states are freeing universities to use their own dollars for other purposes.”

5. Comings and Goings

ANDERSON - Steve Kreiger named head golf coach
BATTEN - Zachary Thomas named head men’s lacrosse coach
COLBY - Adrienne Shibles named head women’s basketball coach 
ELMHURST - Andrea Cannon named director of athletic communications
KING’S - Connor Eck named assistant wrestling coach
MUSKINGUM - Wes Ellsworth named head archery coach
PLATTSBURGH STATE - Cynthia Barnosky named assistant women’s lacrosse coach
ROANOKE - Kayleigh Kimball named assistant director of athletic communications
SCRANTON - Cody Elliott named assistant men’s soccer coach
SPRINGFIELD - Maura Tumelty named assistant field hockey coach

☕️  Thanks for starting your day with us.
Please support D3Playbook with a subscription

Copyright © 2026, D3Playbook.com All rights reserved

AUGUST 20, 2026
composed by STEVE ULRICH
No publication covers NCAA Division III better. #whyD3

😁 Happy Thursday.

📆 What’s Happening Today. The DIII Membership Committee meets today, while the joint meeting between the NADIIIAA/DIIICA executive committees concludes.

🔈️ What We’re Hearing. “One thing that I learned at DePauw is that you can learn as much as you want or as little as you want. I wanted to know everything about everything.” - Bill Rasmussen

🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. Powersurge. Jim Long

Top Story

1. ESPN Founder Bill Rasmussen Dies, A DePauw University Grad Who Never Forgot His Roots

“Bill Rasmussen, the founder of ESPN and a 1954 graduate of DePauw University who pushed to get the legendary Monon Bell football game on national TV, died Tuesday after a battle with Parkinson's disease. Rasmussen was 93.

Rasmussen's death comes 48 years and two days after the moment he blurted out a really crazy idea that not only changed his life, but entirely shifted the way people consume television, launching the 24-hour news cycle.”

» How It Started. “Rasmussen was a 45-year-old former sports broadcaster and public relations executive who had been fired three months before from his job as communications director for the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association. He was looking for a new way to blend his love of sports with technology."So, he and his son were sitting in traffic and stuck and just brainstorming and spitballing," says Ken Owen, former anchor at WRTV and WISH-TV and a friend of Rasmussen. "And Bill came up with the idea of 24-hour-a-day sports.”

» DIII Connection. “After high school, Rasmussen passed up an invitation to a minor league affiliate of the Detroit Tigers and headed to Greencastle, Ind., to attend DePauw University where he was a Rector Scholar majoring in economics and on the baseball team.”

» Quotable. "Bill was a tremendous representative of DePauw,” said Rasmussen’s long-time friend Bill Wagner, assistant athletics director for communications. "His entrepreneurial spirit and vision made the world better. His positive attitude was unmatched and lifted everyone around him. I will miss his friendship. We lost a true legend and pioneer."

» What They’re Saying. "Bill was a remarkable man — a visionary and an innovator who conceived the idea of a network entirely devoted to sports," ESPN Chairman Jimmy Pitaro said in a statement announcing Rasmussen's death. "Quite simply, none of us would be here today if it wasn’t for Bill’s passion and all the hard work and entrepreneurial spirit he put into building ESPN in the late 1970s."

» The Final Word. “After leaving DePauw, Rasmussen never forgot the university. He came back often to help, to speak, to talk to students, to champion the school, and that included his beloved Monon Bell football game between DePauw and Wabash. In 1977, with Rasmussen's encouragement, ABC aired the Monon Bell as a regional broadcast. In 1979, the same year ESPN launched, CBS' Charles Kuralt did a feature on the game during his "Sunday Morning" show. It never failed. If DePauw needed Rasmussen, he was there.”

A MESSAGE FROM SIMPLE.LIFE

10K Steps Is a Myth–Try This Instead

When motivation is lacking, jumping into heavy routines is the fastest way to burn out. That’s why millions of people are turning to walking as the foundation of their fitness journey.

Walking lets you enjoy the outdoors, clear your head, and practice mindfulness. It’s simple, sustainable, and can support lasting weight loss if you know how much you need. The “10,000 steps a day” rule is outdated; everyone’s lifestyle is different.

With Simple, you’ll get access to habit-based coaching that’s helped users lose over 18 million pounds. Take the quiz to discover your personalized walking target.

Take the Quiz

2. Men’s Soccer Preview

Can a NESCAC member win a third consecutive men’s national title?

That’s the question as the 2026 season kicks off on September 1. Tufts won the national crown a year ago with a 2-1 overtime win against Trinity (Texas). The previous season, Amherst captured the national final in PKs versus Connecticut College. And it was the Camels that raised the trophy after winning the 2021 title match.

» Players to Watch. Ryan Bechtel (M, Sr., St. Olaf); Kasdan Blattman (M, Sr., Macalester); Ben Brody (D, Sr., Edgewood); Parker Burke (F, Jr., Wilmington); Alex Depperschmidt (D, Sr., Mount Union); Noah Gray (F, Sr., Grove City); Colton Hudson (D, Sr., Grove City); Quentin Gomez (D, Sr., Washington U.); Christian Hodges (GK, So., Augsburg); Brady Leitner (F, Jr., Hobart); Samuel Theiss (F, Sr., Trinity TX); Matt Torrell (M, Jr., Calvin); Gael Vera (F, Jr., Wheaton MA)

» Returning Leading Goal Scorers. Ronan O’Connor (Jr., Saint John’s), 20; Nickolas Santana (Jr., Western Connecticut), 19; Mateo Secaira (So., Illinois Tech), 18; Jefferson Lopez Coreas (Jr., Marymount), 17; Brody Calvert (Sr., Massachusetts Maritime), 16; Erick Cortes (Sr., Rutgers-Newark), 16; Shafi Ibrahim (So., Thomas), 16; David Ivarsson (Sr., Thomas), 17.

» Career Goal Scoring Leaders. Roberto Velasquez-Osorio (Sr., Manhattanville), 38; Parker Burke (Jr., Wilmington), 36; Brody Calvert (Sr., Mass. Maritime), 35; Erick Cortes (Sr., Rutgers-Newark), 35; Davis Knight (Sr., Piedmont), 33.

» Winningest Active Coaches. Paul McGinlay (Trinity TX), 591-98-48; Jon Anderson (Babson), 482-209-98; Erick Baumann (Dominican), 470-127-54; Pepe Fernandez (Maryville), 430-199-58; Lenny Armuth (Drew), 416-162-63.

stats provided by NCAA Stats

3. NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championships Combined Finals To Be Held At Towson

“For the first time, the finals of all three NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championships will be held at one site.

Towson, which is in the Baltimore metropolitan area, will host the 2027 championships at Johnny Unitas Stadium May 28-30.

Subaru Park, the home of the Philadelphia Union MLS franchise, will host the 2028 championships. Subaru Park was originally set to host the 2027 NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championships, but a scheduling conflict made the facility unavailable.”

» Quotable. “We are thrilled that the NCAA will be hosting a joint Division I, II and III Women’s Lacrosse Championship in 2027 and 2028. All three committees have the utmost confidence in the Towson University staff and the city of Baltimore to successfully host the first-ever joint NCAA Women’s Lacrosse Championships.” - Erica Adams, Bridgewater State, DIII committee chair.”

» What You Need to Know. “The format for next year will be the Division I semifinals being played Friday, May 28, followed by the Division II and Division III national title games Saturday, May 29. The Division I championship game will be Sunday, May 30.”

4. Lightning Round ⚡️ 

» Tuition. “Universities of Wisconsin leaders announced the system will freeze tuition for two years, starting in fall 2027, provided the state “invests $190 million to support the cost of the freeze and other operating needs that preserve educational quality,” according to a news release. For two years after that, the system will commit to keeping tuition raises at or below the rate of inflation.”

» Finances. “Anna Maria College plans to sell its nursing program for $1.1 million to nearby Assumption University next month, according to court documents filed Monday. Anna Maria closed this year following its spring term due to financial duress and filed for bankruptcy in late June to pay off its debts and liquidate its assets.”

» Government. “The U.S. Department of Education released a proposed rule Wednesday to overhaul the accreditation system to carry out key pillars of the Trump administration’s higher education policy agenda. Education Department officials said the overhaul would “break up entrenched accreditation monopolies.” They accused a small group of traditional accreditors of driving up college costs and pushing ideological agendas on campus.”

» Rankings. “The University of the South, also known as Sewanee, has been ranked second in the Princeton Review's category for most beautiful college campus.”

5. Comings and Goings

CONCORDIA (Minn.) - Jonah Stevenson named head women’s tennis coach
CONCORDIA (Wis.) - Ricki Budewitz named interim head tennis coach
CORNELL - Colin Konicek named interim head baseball coach
ELMIRA - Lauryn Engle named assistant sports information director
HEIDELBERG - Jason Hudson named head track and field coach
JOHNSON & WALES-PROVIDENCE - Olivia Duarte resigned as head women’s lacrosse coach to take assistant position at Mercer
LEWIS & CLARK - Kris Fay named head golf coach
LINFIELD - Alex Lopez named head cheer coach
PLATTSBURGH STATE - Darren Wright named assistant men’s basketball coach
REGENT - Jessica Goldyn promoted to head softball coach
ROSE-HULMAN - Kelsey Young named head softball coach
SALISBURY - Ludovic Bell named assistant men’s soccer coach
STEVENSON - Kendra Herbenar named head women’s lacrosse coach
THIEL - Ryan Morian promoted to head golf coach
WASHINGTON and LEE - Kimber Scifres named assistant athletic trainer
WAYNESBURG - Chris Brunson resigned as head softball coach to take similar position at West Liberty
WIDENER - Sophie Bass resigned as head women’s lacrosse coach to take position as director of lacrosse operations at Northwestern
WISCONSIN-EAU CLAIRE - Sebastian Lane named assistant athletic trainer. Sam Konrath named assistant athletic trainer

☕️  Thanks for starting your day with us.
Please support D3Playbook with a subscription

Copyright © 2026, D3Playbook.com All rights reserved

AUGUST 19, 2026
composed by STEVE ULRICH
No publication covers NCAA Division III better. #whyD3

🐫 Hump Day. Less than two weeks away ‘til we get it started

🎶 Your Morning Pick Me Up. I Fought the Law. The Bobby Fuller Four

Top Story

1. NCAA Gets Temporary Reprieve on Players’ Fifth-Year Eligibility

“The NCAA convinced an Ohio state appeals court to stay an injunction granted in favor of a group of college basketball players suing to compete for a fifth year, marking a temporary win for the sports organization that argues the plaintiffs have already exhausted their eligibility.

The sports organization has “presented a substantial case on the merits” and has shown it would face irreparable harm without a stay pending the case’s appeal, the First District Court of Appeals said in a Monday order.”

» Why It Matters. “At issue are new NCAA rules that apply starting with the 2026-27 season, allowing student-athletes to compete for up to five seasons within an age-based five-year period with more limited exceptions than were available under the old system.”

» Quotable. “In a statement Monday, the NCAA said it appreciated the appeals court’s “recognition of the harm caused by the injunction and the substantial arguments we have presented in favor of reversal, and we look forward to fully arguing the merits of the case in the future.””

2. Women’s Soccer Season Preview

Can Washington U. three-peat?

That’s the question as the 2026 season kicks off on September 1. The Bears became the first side to go back-to-back since Williams in 2017-18 and have the opportunity to join UC San Diego (1995-96-97) as the only champs in three consecutive seasons.

» Players to Watch. Reese Birch (M, Sr., Tufts); Aileen Carr (D, Jr., Scranton); Aubree Caya (F, Sr., UW-La Crosse); Olivia Clemons (F, Jr., Washington U.); Vivian Rojas Collins (D, Sr., Pomona-Pitzer); Ava Gizzie (F, Sr., Swarthmore); Maci Landel (F, Sr., Mary Washington); Jordan Lange (F, Sr., North Central IL); Mia Libby (M, Sr., Messiah); Jamie Nguyen (M, Jr., Chicago); Kaitlyn Nimmer (F, Sr., Emory); Gianna Panarelli (M, Sr., Vassar); Maddie Seebeck (D, Sr., MIT); Elizabeth Stophel (F, Jr., Williams); Avery Trapp (GK, Sr., Carleton); Sophie Viscovich (M, Sr., Washington U.)

» Returning Leading Goal Scorers. Aubree Caya (Sr., UW-La Crosse), 24; Hadley Stoddard (Jr., Maine Maritime), 21; Leah Morrier (Jr., Rivier), 18; Olivia Clemons (Jr., Washington U.), 17; Paige Letourneau (Sr., Emmanuel), 17; Julz Mohrbacher (Sr., Waynesburg), 17); Kate Nolan (Jr., Pratt), 17; Delin Peterson (So., Southern Virginia), 17; Xoie Warner (So., Southern Virginia), 17.

» Career Goal Scoring Leaders. Eowyn Lapp (Sr., Gordon), 46; Brittany Laird (Sr., Messiah), 40; Olivia Clemons (Jr., WashU), 39; Julz Mohrbacher (Sr., Waynesburg), 38; Lexi Templin (Sr., Hardin-Simmons), 37; Jordan Lange (Sr., North Central IL), 37

» Winningest Active Coaches. Scott Frey (Messiah), 518-36-37; Todd Olsen (Lynchburg), 515-132-65; Amy Howley Reifert (Chicago), 448-193-74; Mindy Quigg (Ithaca), 409-137-71; Sue Patberg (Emory), 405-167-74.Jim Conlan (WashU), 399-102-43; Luigi Scire (Webster), 394-121-24; Phil Benne (Roanoke), 393-252-64

stats provided by NCAA Stats

3. ‘Hello, Just Circling Back!’ Not Responding to Emails Is Common Across Higher Education But Bad For Morale

Photo by CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash

“As a challenging academic year drew to a close in May 2026, I sent an email to 12 administrators at the college where I teach, thanking them for their work during the year. Several years ago, when I served as part of the administration, I would have taken special note of such an email.

So, I was a bit taken aback when only a few of those to whom I sent it bothered to acknowledge it.”

» Situational Awareness. “Email is now the default mode of communication in colleges and universities, as well as across most workplaces and other areas of life. Unanswered emails have become as regular a feature of academic life.”

» Why It Matters. “There may be good reasons not to acknowledge or respond to an email, such as simply not seeing an email that went into a spam folder. But research shows that not responding to emails can have negative consequences on senders and on the broader college campus climate. Unanswered emails can make people feel ignored or disrespected, or jump to worrying or envisioning worst-case scenarios, such as being on the brink of getting laid off or fired.”

» Of Note. “In my experience, students often do not respond at all, let alone in a timely manner. But I have seen that they still often expect their professors to respond quickly when they initiate an email exchange. Some students even judge faculty by the speed of their responses.”

4. Lightning Round ⚡️ 

» Flag Football. Roanoke announced the addition of women’s flag football as its 29th intercollegiate sport starting in the spring of 2028.

» Conferences. The Little East Conference welcomed St. Anselm as an affiliate member in golf and ice hockey.

5. Comings and Goings

JUNIATA - Named Josh Mangle head wrestling coach
LAWRENCE - Named Shayni Paul assistant women’s soccer coach
MEDGAR EVERS - Named Kevin Blackstock head women’s soccer coach
NEBRASKA WESLEYAN - Named Chris Mellott assistant women’s soccer coach
PLATTSBURGH STATE - Named Jake Pawlika assistant men’s soccer coach
POMONA-PITZER - Matt Wilson ended his tenure as athletic trainer
SAGE - Promoted Carissa Warren to assistant director of athletics
ST. JOSEPH’S (Brooklyn) - Named Dionne Dodson director of athletics
WASHINGTON and LEE - Named Tucker Kindig assistant strength and conditioning and track and field coach
WENTWORTH - Named Cristian Popa head tennis coach
YORK (Pa.) - Named Kaleigh Badecki head women’s basketball coach

☕️  Thanks for starting your day with us.
Please support D3Playbook with a subscription

Copyright © 2026, D3Playbook.com All rights reserved